


The Beast (and Dragon) Within

by Hadronix



Series: Alternate Endings or Routes [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, F/F, F/M, Multi, Out of Character, POV First Person, Superiority Complex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-07-27 03:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16210346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadronix/pseuds/Hadronix
Summary: Velouria, daughter of Keaton and Yasei, Wolfskin and Dragon, had been sent to the Deeprealms to be raised while her parents are out fighting a war. The dragon/wolfskin/human hybrid detests the Deeprealms and tends to spend each day carelessly killing off the animals in the forest as she continues to heed her Dragon and Beast.





	1. A Hunger Unending

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates or the Fire Emblem franchise in general.
> 
> *Important* This is an AU of my fic 'Thirst for Blood', which in itself is an AU of Fates: Conquest. This one starts at around Chapter 23 and will be from the perspective of the OoC Velouria. Unlike 'TfB', there is no Phoenix, Raven, Hadronix or Lotus. There is also the, much more, obvious difference of Yasei actually being pregnant and giving birth to Velouria.
> 
> 'Thirst for Blood': https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043058/chapters/34873787

I took in a deep breath of the surrounding area, grass, trees, and flowers pepper the area with a number of different scents. My tail wags at the pure blissfulness of the place, yet my face remains cold.  _ ‘I hate being here.’ _ My parents wanted to keep me out of the war, so they sent me to be raised in the Deeprealms, a place accessible only by the Dragon’s Gate in Nohr.  _ ‘I don’t want to be here.’ _ Both my Dragonstone and Beaststone softly glow at the pent up anger, not at my parents, but just at life in general.  _ ‘Kill, rip, rend, feast.’ _ A dark smile graces my face, father may be a pure-blooded Wolfskin and mother may be half-dragon half-human...

But I am more bestial than they could hope to be, I am the daughter of the two strongest Shifters in the entirety of Nohr and Hoshido. I pull my red cloak slightly closer as I feel the urge return. If it’s not the beast calling out, it’s the dragon, my tiny human side is all but silenced, unable to make even a squeak compared to the other two. I lick my lips as I tune in to the Dragon… time to hunt again.  _ ‘Ravage, consume.’ _

Within a minute I am back in the forest, the single most bountiful area in all of the Deeprealms… a forest whose animal population is quickly dwindling from my excessive hunting. Though I don’t care, I’m just heeding the calls of my bestial sides. With a scent locked on to a bear, I form my lance and charge the pathetic beast, the hulking thing turns to roar… but even its eyes are filled with a fear as I approach.

All the animals here fear my presence,  **I** am on top of the food chain,  **I** cannot be outran, and  **I** cannot be outwitted. The bear comically stumbles as he attempts to run, before I skewer him like the rest, whenever the Dragon calls for blood. My heart is hammering as I rip into its body, fur and flesh alike, my own body heats as I relish in the desired scent of blood, the rawness of its meat.  _ ‘I won’t ever find a mate of my own power…’ _ That is the only truth that burdens me. Father told me how lucky he was to find Mother, a dragon-shifter that had no equal. Keaton and Yasei, father and mother, Wolfskin and Dragon, Alpha and mate.

Mother rarely acknowledged her human side, preferring to embrace her Dragon, a choice that has caused her to become increasingly savage as the war against Hoshido continues, her army is the single most deadliest unit. Not that it surprises me, since the two strongest Shifters fight side by side, their bestial connection providing a stronger bond and synergy than even the most veteran of soldiers would be envious of. I look down at the bear, nearly devoid of meat, organs and all. I rip out a few of its bones and place them in my bag.

These animals are starting to bore me, I  **want** them to run, not stumble as if they were cubs. Perhaps it’s time to up my game? Look for another forest that doesn’t know my skills. Yet, even if I do, it’ll only be a matter of time before they too, fear me. The Beast growls, the Dragon roars, the Human stays put.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I make my way back to the sorry excuse of a village, “Velouria!” The elderly woman that oversees… oversaw my care walks up to me, “You’re late again… and all bloody.” She chides, but looks more disappointed than angry.

Not that I care, “And somehow this keeps surprising you.” I shrug it off.

“Gods, I know how…” She starts, but stops and pales as I level a glare at her.

“Are there any other forests here? Ones with stronger game? Ones that don’t whimper and tremble like cubs and pups?” I all but spit out.

“N-no.” She shakes her head. “Not near here.”

“Then where?” I take a step closer, “These animals are weak, worthless… even the ‘mighty’ bears scatter, it  **bores** me.”

“Please, I ask you stop killing so many, the other villages rely on that place for meat.”

“I don’t care.” I growl, “The strong survive, human. I will not deny my Beast or Dragon, if they call for blood, I give them blood.” With a speed that none of the humans can follow, I lift her off the ground by her dress, “Where are the other spots?”

“Velouria, put her down!” One of the guards has the guts to order me.

I glance over at the offending voice, before carelessly tossing the elder aside, yet even with my lack of effort, she is launched several feet away, sliding on the ground for a few extra inches. “Where is the stronger game?” I repeat, both of my Stones start to glow from my frustration. “Well!?”

Now even the guard trembles, “That f-forest has the st-stro…”

His eyes widen in terror as his insides are suddenly falling out of a large rip in his chest, the intoxicating scent of blood fills the air as my Beast is sated once more. “That ‘forest’ is worthless.” Not that he could respond, with the way he is choking up blood. I yank my hand down and rip through the rest, a hole in his chest and a gap formed on the way down. “Just like you.”

“Halt!” Now the other guards have come to join him…

I see Wyrmslayers and Beast Killers, but they don’t bother me, “Even if you do somehow succeed in subduing me, it won’t spare you my mother’s wrath.” I simply state, “This  **is** still considered Nohrian territory, and I am still Nohrian royalty.” Everyone knows mother is not related to the Nohrian royals by blood, but her devotion to Nohr’s cause makes her their family in every aspect of the word.

And just like that, they falter,  _ ‘Pathetic.’ _ The guard leader kneels, “Please, excuse us.”

I close my eyes for a moment and listen for the animals’ responses… silence for once, and as such, the Human cries out for mercy. The Human sounds weak, undeserving of being a part of me, I can easily tell why mother keeps ignoring it. “Send a messenger to my parents, I desire to be a part of this war.”

The leader hesitates, “Th-they ordered us to keep…” He stops as I carelessly rip another one of the nearby guards apart, a few quick strikes removes an arm, a portion of his upper body, and the first few inches of his face. “Please, I ask for your forgiveness… I will do so at once!” The ravaged body falls to the ground as the leader, whose face has paled, calls over a messenger.

_ ‘Pathetic.’ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only real way to pass time is by ripping through more animals, the cowardly beasts that are starting to leave their own homes, they force themselves to adapt to a new environment to escape my claws, my teeth, my horns… my hunger. The Dragon roars and I rip, the Beast growls and I rend. The Human stays silent as it observes the half-hearted bliss I partake in.  _ ‘They are too weak.’ _ The Dragon and Beast never seem to be sated,  _ ‘Too weak! Kill, rip, rend, ravage, feast, blood!’ _ The protests continue, and they never seem to…

“Pup.” I turn and the Dragon and Beast immediately become silent, as father stands a few feet away from me. He has a small helping of blood adorning his face.

“Vella, dear.” Mother gently greets, heeding her Human. She too, has blood around her face.

I smile as I run to embrace them, letting my Human have its share for once. Father tenses before giving in to the hug, while mother responds immediately. “You’re here…”

“Still having trouble keeping track of days?” Yasei gently chides me, “We were only a few hou… two days away.” I can sense her discomfort and uncertainty.  _ ‘We all still have trouble remembering the time difference.’ _

“It’s hard.” I admit as the embrace breaks. “Mother, father, I…”

She smiles, but the gentleness is gone as her Dragon shows itself, and father flashes his fangs, “I would like to see you in battle.” Keaton states, “I understand that the animals fear you.” He is nearly overflowing with pride.

“I’d expect nothing less.” Yasei’s gentle, but deadly voice rings out.

“Then I’m to join?” I ask, hopefully.

Keaton glances over to Yasei, while father is the alpha, it is still mother’s army. “Do you really need to ask?” She simply questions. “But just remember, this  **won’t** mean you can kill as you please, you’ll have to learn to temper your Dragon and Beast sides, while promoting your Human.”

I eagerly nod, “Of course.” And with that, I join my parents for war… my father’s pack, without a doubt we will be the deadliest out of the entire army. The Dragon roars, the Beast growls, the Human stays silent, and I flash a primal grin.  _ ‘Hoshido… prepare yourself, Velouria, daughter of Keaton and Yasei, is out for blood.’ _


	2. The Human Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Velouria gets a moment to tend to her Human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest, nor do I have any definite claim on my own memory.
> 
> I'm doing too much at once. Leo and his retainers are closer to their canonical spots. Niles and Odin are with Yasei's army and Leo is a couple chapters from here. I -think- that's the last change.
> 
> Also, short chapter.

It seems even my parents' power, the Hoshidans still put up a tough defense.  _'I wouldn't have it any other way.'_ Some parents might give their children toys or some other 'thing', but me? Blood and flesh are my rewards. Battles start to turn in our favour since I joined. Still, that doesn't mean it's easy, the Hoshidans are nothing less than formidable.

"My my," the lecherous Niles starts, "I had no idea Lady Yasei had such a gem in her collection." He performs a bow. "I wish we had you sooner."

I look around the camp, "Why?" The Human side speaks up.

He chuckles, "A few less casualties, for one..."

"They should have been stronger." I shrug it off, even as he gives me a chastising look.

"These are the Royals' retainers I referring to."

"My point still stands." I am catching a scent of unease around him, yet before he could add anything…

"Vella, mind coming here?" Mother's voice calls out, the Human dominating it.

I close my eyes and force a sigh back from the old nickname… and to prevent myself from slamming the archer's mouth shut as a small chuckle escapes him. "Of course." I turn and follow Mother to her tent…

Where a plethora of human things lie. It all seems new. "I'm going to give you some additional lessons." Her Dragon seeps through and any retort I have dies on the spot. "You aren't giving your Human enough use. Dear, you are our best fighter… but I did say that you will need to put effort into your Human, right?"

I obediently nod, "Yes." Perhaps it slipped my mind, but I was so caught up in the blood, the battles, the gore…

She smiles, "Then let's start with…" She eyes each of the items; books, clothes, seemingly random things all clumped together.  _'All in an effort to help promote my Human…'_ I gentle smile at mother's assistance as she pulls out a book 'Etique and You'. "This." She walks over and I attempt to reach out for the book, but she shakes her head, "I'll admit, this is also an excuse to spend time with you." That beautiful smile of hers never left.

I contain a huff,  _'I'm capable of reading…'_ , "You don't need an excuse." Her smile widens as she takes me by the hand and leads me to her bed, then ungracefully throws herself on it, in a stark contrast to the book she holds.

I join her and she opens the book, "Chapter 1…"

* * *

Several chapters go by and despite my enjoyment of the time spent with mother, I still find myself agitated as the duo of animals start to protest the extended time staying still. "Vella?" She snaps me out of my thoughts, she's looking at me with concerned eyes, some of her purple hair has fallen over her eyes, kind of like Aunt Camilla's.

"It's getting difficult to stay still." I admit. "Having both a Beast and Dragon is taxing. The reason I kill so much is to keep them quiet."

"...Even if it's pushing your body?" Yasei asks and I nod, "You've been giving them too much leeway, it's a sort of balance. I know you've only really seen my Dragon side, but that's because you were in the Deeprealms, and wasn't exposed to me having to be a commander. As long as we aren't fighting, I'm being Human, otherwise it's straight to being a Dragon again." She has since closed the book, "I could have Elise sew another cloak, if you would like." She abruptly changes the subject.

I pull my red cloak closer, relishing in the scents it is holding, "I'm… sure. That would be nice."

"And you are sure you don't want more clothing?" In that shameless fashion, she looks me over, gently moving over my cloak… right where my fur just shows.

"Mother…" I sigh as she pats my fur.

"Hm?" I can sense a rather large helping of amusement coming from her, "I wonder if…" She starts scratching my stomach, causing a content growl to leave me. "Aw, you still like that!" She giggles.

My face reddens as she continues her treatment, "Gods, mother, please." Yet I don't do anything to stop her, even as she pushes me down on the cot and scratches more intensely.  _'Pure bliss…'_

"I still can't believe how much you've grown…" She comments with a bit of sadness, "I can never apologize enough to having to leave you in the Deeprealms." The scratching slows down, instead she just starts rubbing my stomach.

"You had your reasons… besides, I'm here now." Her hands travel from the fur that dominates my body and goes to a patch of scales over on my upper arms. "I missed you, too." I never had my Human pulled out so far, it feels… nice. Like a sort of serenity,  _'I like this.'_

She giggles as she continues switching between my scales, my fur, and the very few spots of skin; hands, feet, and face, that's all I…  _'Well, there's_ ** _that_  ** _, but she wouldn't.'_ "You've turned into a beautiful woman on me."

"Looks aren't…" I stop myself from the bestial thoughts and she nods in approval, "Thank you."

Then I yelp in surprise as she pulls me into a hug, "Vella. I don't care what you think… I'm getting you a bra."

"Mother!" My face reddens once more.

"Dear, father and I should not be the subject of your current heavy breathing." She simply states.

 _'I was so caught up in the moment, that I didn't even realize I am starting to feel heated.'_ I take a deep breath of her scent and… "Hypocrite."

She breaks the hug and gives me a mock glare. "I'm just thinking of Keaton." She pitifully lies.

I roll my eyes, "Sure."

"And why is that?" Said Wolfskin is now at the entrance, a smirk on his face. "Pup." He greets me.

"Father!" I all but leap up and pull him into a hug, and as usual, he tenses before returning it. I breath in his scent, committing every small detail to memory.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this Human…" He pauses as mother wraps her arms around him from behind. "...This isn't what a pack should be doing." And with that, he breaks the mood,  _'He's right, but still.'_

"I've just been pulling her Human out more, mate." Yasei states as we both end the embrace, "She's still royalty, she's going to have to learn it sooner or later."

"I know." He sighs. "Just… what's our next target?"

I frown,  _'Even after all this time, father is still having trouble grasping Human things.'_ To be fair, he's pure Wolfskin, unlike mother and me. "Cheve." She simply replies.

His eyes narrow, "Xander…"

I look from mother to father, there's a clear distress among them, "Did Uncle Xander do something?"

Yasei shakes her head, "No, Leo did." I am understandably confused, "An incident happened at Castle Krakenburg, Keaton and I were separated, and Leo informed our siblings that Keaton is to stay away from me." She gives a gentle glance at her mate, "They don't… they won't understand, expect things to become heated when we get there."

"What kind of incident would make them…" I start.

Father refuses to say anything, "I was suffering from a PTSD episode and we nearly killed each other." Mother's composure cracks, "I thought I was fighting Hans…"

"He won't keep us separated." I try to assure her. "I won't let him."

"Vella, if he makes an order…" She trails off.

"I'll make him change his mind."

She shakes her head, "You won't be able to, big brother holds his duty to the crown first. No one else can shift his perspective."

 _'Then I'll find a way.'_ I keep that thought to myself.  _'I've spent too long in the Deeprealms, just to be pushed away.'_ With my resolve strengthened, I feel more than confident I can do it.  _'If he wants us gone, then I'll show him what he'll be losing.'_


	3. The Rebellious Stage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Velouria and her mother's army make it Cheve where the Wolfskin/Dragon/Human hybrid makes a very powerful point why she and Keaton should stay to Xander, despite Leo's orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.

Cheve is in sight, a place of deserted buildings and destroyed pathways, bodies line the area.  _ ‘It’s a shame they’ve been dead for so long, because dried blood is a horrid scent.’ _ I contain a gag as we move our way through the corpses. “So, Vella.” Niles comes within view.

“Call me that again and I’ll rip your other eye out.” I growl and to my benefit, he actually backs off some.

“Ooo, so aggressive.” He purrs, despite the discomfort evident on his face. “So, what’s it like, bathing in the carnage as you always seem to do?”

“Wonderful, the scent of blood is intoxicating, the sound of flesh being torn, bones being cracked… the way the light fades from their eyes.” I allow myself a moment of peace as I mentally go over the sensations.

He chuckles, “You will like Peri, one of Lord Xander’s retainers.”

“How so?”

“She’s the same way… except she laughs and giggles as she fights, rather than growls.”  _ ‘Huh.’ _ That is certainly something. With his piece said, he returns to the back of the group.

“Heya niece and daughter!” Elise jumps on my back and wraps her arms around me, “How’s it goin’?”

_ ‘That’s right, Aunt Elise and Yasei sometimes share their bed with each other, and so Elise considers herself a ‘mother’ to me.’ _ I sigh, “Well enough. It’s good to see you are full of energy, as usual.”

She giggles, “Well, duh. We’re gonna see big brother!” I slightly tense, “Oh… big sister told you, then?”

“Yea…” I nod, then she pulls my hood down and starts rubbing my head, “Mmm…” I let myself become subject to her touch.

“Aw, you look so content, darling Vella.” Camilla is beside me now, “I’m not sure if I already told you, but you have grown into a fine young woman.” She coos as she scratches my chin with her armored hand, yet the cold metal somehow just makes it feel even better.

“Please, you two…” I couldn’t find the will to stop them, “Haah…” My legs tremble for a moment.  _ ‘Gods, and that’s why I wanted them to stop…’ _

“Really? Just from that?” Camilla has a mischievous glint in her visible eye. Elise pulls my hood back on and drops off.

“You both know Shifters are more keen to touch.” I bluntly reply. “Me more than most, since I have two animals in me.”  _ ‘My senses are the sharpest, my ability in combat is unrivaled… I am the daughter of the two strongest Shifters, after all.’ _ I take pride in my skills.

“Oh, I’m well aware.” Camilla has a sultry, knowing smile on her face.  _ ‘Gods, it feels like she’s trying to bed me now…’ _

“Mother said Leo ordered father and her to stay away…” I sour the mood with that one statement.

Camilla tuts, “Oh, don’t worry about it, Xander will understand once he sees my love with a family!” Elise proudly exclaims.

“Leave it to us, dear.” The Malig Knight winks.

I pause, “If you say so…” Yet, I doubt they can persuade him and once again, silence reigns, but Elise has chosen to grab my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.  _ ‘Even through the glove, I can feel her warmth…’ _ Then Camilla does the same with my other hand, the cold metal feels just as good, “You don’t have to do this, you know.” I state the obvious.

“If it bothers you…” Camilla trails off.

“You’re the first child, of course we’re going to pamper you!” Elise giggles.

I catch mother giving me a knowing smile,  _ ‘...She set this up.’ _ Yet, I can’t complain, it  **is** nice. “It doesn’t bother me, I appreciate it. I can sense the approval of off Yasei,  _ ‘Ah, she’s also making sure I’m using my Human enough.’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The large stone walls of the fort seem sturdy enough to repel even the standard-issue siege weaponry for a while. The gold required to build this must have been huge. “Same thing as last time, just… hold off for a few minutes, okay?” Mother turns to father.

“And me?” I ask.

She stops for a moment, then looks at Keaton, “I… please stay with him, too. It won’t be long, I promise.” She gives me a quick hug before leading her army to the inside.

“...You’re enjoying yourself?” Father asks, clearly uncertain on small talk.

I nod, “I am, and you?”

“It’s still hard to grasp.” He pauses, “I’m…”

“Don’t worry about apologizing.” I stop him before he blurts out something crazy, “I understand, we’re in war, you two don’t have the time to properly raise a child.”

“Pup.” He corrects me quickly.

“We’re in a… unique situation, we’re both a family and a pack.” I gently state, “I understand it’ll take time, but I trust you, I trust that you can get being Human thinking. I mean, Aunt Elise can somewhat understand Shifter thinking.”

“Yea…” A looming silence follows.

“Lord Keaton, Lady Velouria.” Jakob approaches us, “Do come in… quickly.” He looks bothered and we immediately follow the Butler, “It seems the worst is coming.”

Father growls and my heart feels like it dropped, “I should have known better than to be so optimistic.” We enter the room to see a livid Xander, who glares holes at us the second we enter. There are two more people beside him, a smooth-faced man and a woman with light-blue hair with pink ends.

“You…” The Crown Prince all but spits out. “You dare return?” He spares a glance at mother, “And you… created that…”

“She’s my daughter, big brother.” Yasei looks as angry, “As you see, I have a wonderful family with me.”

I nudge Keaton before he could say ‘pack’, “Please, big brother,” Elise pleads, “They are so happy together.”

“And I will repeat, he nearly  **killed** our sister.” My ears twitch. “And I will not have these…”

“These ‘beasts’ are worth at least a dozen of your Elite, Crown Prince.” I interrupt him. “We’re the reason why casualties have dropped.

His gaze goes straight to me. “And you are?”

“Velouria, daughter Yasei and Keaton.” I reply, though I can sense mother’s disapproval. “Our claws…”

“Gods…” Xander shakes his head, “I will say this once. Leave.”

Mother shifts uncomfortably but she looks ready to concede. “No.” I speak up.

“Vella!” Yasei chides me. “He's…”

I cross my arms as both of Stones start faintly glowing. “I'll challenge him, then. A duel.”

“I have no reason to accept your terms.” Xander stand his ground.

“Worried this ‘beast’ will beat you?” I provoke him. Everyone else has long since fallen silent, too nervous to intervene.

The Crown Prince sighs, “This ‘duel’...”

“I win, we stay. I lose, we leave.” Keaton’s scent is practically overflows with pride, while Yasei is a mix of pride and anxiety.

“I win, and I'll have your two heads.” Keaton only smirks at his terms.

Before mother could say anything, “Deal.” I overhear several protests, mainly from Aunt Elise and Aunt Camilla, Yasei’s scent remains the same.

“There  **is** a rebellion tomorrow, Lord Xander.” The smooth-faced retainer states.

He scoffs, “This won’t take but a minute, Laslow. A warm-up at most.” With that, he leads the way out of the room, into the hallway, and to a training area. “We’ll be using this entire area.” He unsheathes his Divine Sword and points it towards me.

I narrow my eyes and focus my power on the Beaststone first, with my form assumed, I roar my challenge. He charges first, looking to end the fight with a few strikes, I nimbly sidestep his first swing with a speed that defies my current size, and back away from a follow up. Then I slam a fist on his chest armor, yet all it causes is a brief stumble before he is on me again. It remains like that for a few moments before he seemingly starts to get serious, figuring out that I am, in fact, quite skilled.

He thrusts the sword and I dodge the incoming beam,  _ ‘Mother told me about that…’ _ He looks briefly surprised before attempting another strike, as yet another fist hits the same spot in his armor, causing it to crack. A light envelopes me as I shift into my dragon form and ready a stream of water. He looks unbothered by the fact I can also shift into a dragon, and charges without hesitation. Another strike, another miss as I unleash the torrent, skillfully piercing the sword-wielding hand, a small hole in his palm. Siegfried ungracefully clatters to the ground and I charge him, shift back to my human self, and gripping his neck with a single hand.

It seems like he is too overcome with shock to immediately respond, “I… yield.” I drop him to the ground, “Gods…” He breathes.

“We’re staying.” I smirk at father, who returns it in kind.

“Wooow,” Elise gasps as she dashes towards me, wrapping me in her arms. “You’re  **really** good.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less from our darling Yasei…” Camilla winks at my mother she her arms, too, embrace me.

I can feel Xander’s eyes boring into me as mother pulls father into the group hug. I can sense a large amount of disbelief from the Crown Prince, both from his loss and the amount of affection being so openly displayed. “Perhaps I was wrong.” He simply states as I hear him sheathe his sword. “But, let’s see how long this show lasts.” With that, the embrace ends and we back up...

Then Aunt Elise pulls down my hood and starts rubbing my head, Aunt Camilla scratches my chin and coos at me, mother pulls me into a hug, while still giving Camilla room to treat me. “Gods, please…” I contently sigh. Yet all that does is cause the attention to grow, “Haah…”,  _ ‘They’re doing this on purpose…’ _ . Camilla gives me a knowing smile as mother breaks the hug, then Elise pulls my hood back up.

“Was that too much?” Mother smiles with an innocence that contradicts the treatment I was getting.

“It would be fine… if you all wouldn’t go so intensely that it heats me up…” Despite the annoyance, I can’t help but relish it all, “But, I won’t ever say no to it.”


	4. Blood and Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Velouria and her mother's army stands off against the rebel force, led by Ryoma. The wolfskin/dragon/human hybrid also makes a claim on one of Xander's retainers, the blood-spilling Peri. Afterwards, she attends a small shopping spree with her mother, as well as both Aunt Elise and Aunt Camilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.

The Hoshidan army stands on the opposite side of the field, led by none other than the High Prince, Ryoma. I lick my lips in anticipation. “As long as you save Ryoma for me, dear.” Mother coos into my furred ear as one of her hands stroke my face for a second, before redirecting her gaze at the enemy.

“Corrin!” The red-armored man yells, “Please, come to your senses and return home!”

“I heard you liked killing…” The pink and blue-hair retainer of Xander skips to me, her horse next to her,  _ ‘Peri, was it?’ _ “Wanna make it a competition?”

“You think you can kill more than me?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Nah, who can spill more blood!” She abruptly wraps an arm around me, “Bonus points if you can cover yourself in it!” She giggles madly.

“You’re on.” I flash a feral smile and she excitedly jumps on her horse.  _ ‘...I like her.’ _ By the time our little exchange ended, both armies charge,  _ ‘Spill the most blood, hm?’ _ Seems like I’m going to have to spend more time rending bodies apart then actually killing them.  _ ‘Fine with me.’ _ I first shift into my Beast form and grab two Hoshidans, before slamming them together hard enough for them to all but pop in a gore-filled mess.  _ ‘Blood, rend, kill, ravage!’ _ The duo calls out and I eagerly oblige.

The Hoshidans are spared no quarter as I savagely rip through their bodies, making sure the life-force drenches the area. The scent becomes increasingly thicker and I actually heard one of the soldiers gag from it.  _ ‘More! Kill, murder, feast!’ _ Body parts fly off along with organs, blood rains down,  _ ‘Paradise.’ _ I’m in a sort of trance from the pure gore. I feel my body heat as my viciousness only increases. I quickly shift over to my Dragon to let it out, too.  _ ‘Stomp, pierce.’ _ I crush ribs, impale with my horns, slam with my tail, and my scales start to become stained red with the amount of blood covering me.  _ ‘Gods, don’t let this end…’ _

Yet, despite my savage prayer, the combat starts to die down. While in my haze, Ryoma and some others have fled the field, I shift back and look at the Nohrian army,  _ ‘Not a single casualty.’ _ Xander looks somewhere between shock and disgust. Keaton is beaming at me with pride, Yasei gives me a gentle smile, as the distinct scent of lust fills her.

“Keaton…” She breathes as she throws herself on his person, intent on having him claim her on the spot.

“Hold, mate.” Somehow, the Wolfskin shows enough modesty and guides her to one of the nearby houses.

“I can see your effectiveness…” Xander sighs, “Velouria.”

I smile, “Always eager for another battle…” I trail off as Peri approaches me with her horse walking beside her, one of her ponytails has some remnant of an organ on it, while blood covers large portions of her body, yet somehow her horse is completely devoid of it all.

“I like you.” Is all she said before she dissolves into a fit of giggles.

I tilt my head as I observe her current state, the still heavy scent of blood in the area, on me, and her pushes my animals out once more… but for another reason. “ **Mine** .” She gasps as I pounce on her.

“Hm?” Yet she seems completely fine with it, “Did you want something?”

“How much do you like blood, Peri?” My eyes glaze over her.  _ ‘Gods… how could a human be as bloodthirsty as me?’ _

‘...This much.” She rolls us over and licks some blood off of my face. “And you?”

Another roll in the blood-soaked ground, “Same.” I trail my forked tongue across her bloodied armor.  _ ‘Claim.’ _ My breathing shortens.

“I like you.” She repeats. “Buuut, we’re going to have to wait on  **that** .” I growl, but it comes out more as a whimper, “Oh, you’ll be fine. I just don’t want my armor to get stained.” In contradiction to her current state, “Well, I don’t want it to rust.” She corrects herself.

“Fine.” I reply as I let her up.  _ ‘Claim,  _ **_mine_ ** _.’ _ “I'm holding you up to that.” Yet all I get is a wink in return, causing a pleasurable amount of heat to surge through me. She must have been able to tell, because her own face starts flushing.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normally if I were in the Deeprealms, I would be out hunting… but for once, both the Beast and Dragon are sated, allowing me to think as a Human clearly for once, without forcing myself to.  _ ‘It feels nice.’ _ So, as of right now, mother is helping me with some more Human things to pass the time, and the first thing she wants to do is get me dressed… modestly.  _ ‘Shopping.’ _ I didn’t even realize there were still enough people in Cheve  **to** shop. I thought all of the civilians died.

“This one?” Yasei pulls a dress off of one of the racks, she already has gotten several bras,  _ ‘Gods, mother.’ _

I guess the dress looks nice? She’s been purposely picking out purple, to match our hair colors. “It looks nice.”

She pouts, “That’s what you said about the last three.”

“It all looks the same to me, unnecessary.” I look myself over, “I have fur and scales to cover me, why do I need a cloth to cover me, too?”

“You won’t be able to join me in events without a proper dress, Vella.”

“You don’t even like those gatherings…” I trail off.

“I still have to attend them… and as my daughter, I am making sure you suffer them with me.” A smile graces her face.

“Are you dragging father along, too?” Gods, I can’t even imagine how he would handle it.

The smile doubles, “Wait until you see his  **suit** .”

A moment passes as I try to picture Keaton wearing a suit, my mouth twitches as giggles start to escape me. “Okay, what would you recommend for a dress?”

“Hm…” She happily returns to the racks.

Yet, before she could even get another word out, and as if on cue,  **both** Aunt Elise and Aunt Camilla make their way into the increasingly cramped spot. “Did someone say dress?” Camilla’s tone comes out innocent enough, but I have a feeling that the first thing she'll recommend is something revealing.  _ ‘Not that there is anything more revealing than what I usually wear.’ _

“I'll find some accessories to match!” Elise exclaims, as full as energy as ever. “By the time we’re done, you'll be  **the** most beautiful woman ever!” Mother pulls me into a sudden hug, Aunt Camilla starts scratching my stomach, and Aunt Elise pulls my hood down to rub my head…

All of this is happening in the middle of a clothing store. “By the gods…” I sigh, but ultimately lean into the embracing and touching.  _ ‘They spoil me too much.’ _ A content growl escapes me.  _ ‘But it feels _ **_so_ ** _ good!” _ My tail starts wagging.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

How? How did we end up with so much stuff? I thought we were going to get a few dresses and  **maybe** a few things like hairpins. Instead we leave with no less than a dozen dresses,  _ ‘Excluding all of the dresses that they got for them… I never knew Mother tended to her Human that much,’ _ several cratefuls of accessories,  _ ‘Most of which are from the surrounding stores… and most are mine.’ _ So now we are walking back with almost a small army’s worth of stuff.  **How** ?

Still, there is a distinct satisfaction from looking over my dresses, and I won’t lie that I ended up enjoying myself. “Ah, Lady Yasei.” Jakob approaches us, “Please, allow me.” He offers his hands for the many bags spread across all of us.

For a moment she tenses, suddenly unsure, maybe even insecure. Then she looks at both Camilla and Elise, before returning her gaze to Jakob, “No thank you. I would appreciate some tea, though.”

The Butler seems to be caught off-guard, but ends up bowing, “At once.”

Several short moments pass in silence as we continue walking, “I didn’t want him shouldering all of it, since you two…” She trails off.

Camilla plants a quick kiss on her hair, “No need to worry about us, dear.”

Elise would have hugged her, if it wasn’t for the bags in her own hands, “Yeah! We’ll be fine.”

Despite the reassurances, I sense her mood drop even further, “So many are…” She chokes on a sob, “so many dead.” Mother stops walking, “All because of me.”

“Don’t say that!” Elise exclaims, “It’s not your fault and you know it!”

“Then what? I can’t keep blaming the Hoshidans!” Yasei counters, “I’m not fit to lead, but apparently father doesn’t care and makes me the commander anyway!”

“We’ll avenge them.” I state as my animals start to cry out once more,  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _

Mother pauses for a moment, before her own Dragon starts to bleed through, “You’re right.” She flashes me a vicious smile, “Blood for blood.”

Aunt Elise looks bothered, but does not protest, “I assure you, we won’t lose anyone else.” Camilla pats her shoulder.


	5. A Song of Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Velouria and her mother's army have boarded a ship and are en route to the closest port to the Hoshidan border. Along the way, the Dragon/Woflskin/Human hybrid learns something exciting about her mother...
> 
> As well as getting a 'toy' to play with later on that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.

I take in the sounds and smells of the ocean as we make our way towards the closest Nohrian harbor that we can get to the Hoshidan border. While I found it refreshing, however, what I wasn’t expecting is was for Mother to all but dash to one edge of the boat and start vomiting. “Your tea, Lady Yasei.” Jakob offers her.  _ ‘I would have never thought Mother to be one affected by sea sickness.’ _ Father is handling it just fine.

“I’m glad you didn’t inherit  **this** .” Yasei walks over to me several minutes later, looking slightly better than before. “I hate boat rides…” She glances at me with a small smile, “and it has irony on top of it, since our dragon forms use water.”

I shrug it off, “I’ve got the better half of your two traits.” I am the daughter of the two strongest Shifters, after all.

She raises an eyebrow, before lightly punching my shoulder, “I love you, Vella.”

A sudden warmth overtakes me as she wraps an arm around me, and my face starts flushing, “I love you too, Mother.”

Her grip only tightens, “Aw, aren’t you going to use my nickname you gave me?”

The comforting warmth is replaced with embarrassment, “I was too young to…” Yet she stares me down with pleading eyes, two orbs of blood-red, I can see the Dragon lurking just barely below the surface. “I love you too… Ya-ma.” I look away the very second it leaves my mouth.

I can sense her mood greatly improves from that simple declaration, “Big brother Leo will be waiting for us.” A tense silence follows. “But Xander approves now, so there won’t be any trouble.” She suddenly grabs my shoulders and turns us to face each other, a rather unusual sultry smile on her face, “Speaking of trouble… have you and Peri…?”

“Mother!” My face starts burning a bright red again, “No.”

“I could ask Camilla to…” She starts, but finds herself unable to continue as giggles begin coming out of her.

“Please don’t.” I sigh,  _ ‘What is with her today? She usually doesn’t tease me with this topic too much.’ _ Her giggling fades, and her smile turns from sultry to a more motherly one, kind and caring. “Yes, mother?”

“Elise!” Mother calls out, making no effort to hide her somewhat suspicious behavior, “Come here!”

The youngest Nohrian princess skips over, “Heya.” She pulls both of us into a hug.

“Tell her!” Yasei exclaims with a rather high amount of enthusiasm.

Aunt Elise nods, “Wow… you’re really gonna let him be the last to know?”

“Oh, he’ll figure it out soon, just tell her!” I look from Yasei to Elise.

“Yasei is pregnant!” She nearly sings. “You’re going to have a sibling!”

While the words immediately registered, it took several moments before it actually hit me, “I'm going to be a sister?” A smile slowly forms as my Human practically takes over.  _ ‘Another family member… another one to the pack.’ _ Yasei and Elise continue to chat as I just stand there in awe.  _ ‘Life is great.’ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life was great, even as a group of thieves struck down some of the guards on our ship and ‘claimed’ that they have taken it over,  _ ‘Fools.’ _ Peri is by my side as we take a single corner and start slaughtering them, she giggles in delight as blood flies out, the occasional organ following.  _ ‘She’s so entrancing.’ _ I honestly still have a hard time believing she is just a human.  _ ‘My human.’ _ I tear another one apart with my Beast form’s hands, relishing in the intoxicating scent of blood,  _ ‘Kill, rend, feast, more!’ _ The Beast and Dragon fight for more…

And by the gods will I give them more. We were about to move to the next spot when reinforcements decided now was the best time to strike, even as some of them faltered from seeing the dismembered body parts strewn around the area near them. I lick my lips and slam my fist into one of them, making sure that I don’t hit the boat itself. I suddenly feel that uneasy prickling feeling,  _ ‘Beast Killer.’ _ Despite the beasts’ most feared weapon being directed at me, well, most beasts. I’m not the average beast,  _ ‘I am also a Dragon.’ _ I quickly shift into my Dragon form and catch the Beast Killer with my hand, it manages to cut deeper than the average blade, by my Dragon form prevents most of the damage from happening.

The man seems to have recognized his fault and immediately releases his grip in an attempt to run, I toss the useless weapon to the side and pounce on him, then flip him over so he faces me. “How will you taste, I wonder?” I shift back into my human form, though my strength gifted from both of my forms keeps him in place with almost no effort. “Don’t disappoint, okay?” I flash my fangs as I rip into his chest, through his armor, I then spit the offending clothes out and take another bite, his screams echo through the air,  _ ‘So good…’ _ HIs protests die out quickly enough, “A shame, I wish he lasted longer than that.”

“Aw, I was just getting warmed up, too…” Peri sighs, “It never seems to last long enough.” She casually dismounts her horse and kicks one of the corpses, as if willing it to come back to life so she can beat it down again. Then she flashes a sick smile at me and I shiver, “Did you get enough?”

I scoff, “Of course not.” She giggles as she leads her horse away, “Well, I suppose…”

She stops as my ears perk up, I can overhear Mother talking to someone new, and with my curiosity getting the better of me, I follow the sound of her voice to see her and the others looming over a man with black and white spiky hair. I narrow my eyes the second I see him. “He’s dying, no questions asked.” Mother bluntly states as she holds Yato in hand, the Divine Weapon has slowly started taking a shadowy purple glow, as if reflecting the spite she holds in her.

He spits, “The prime example why Nohr is held with such contempt.” He is unafraid as the blade draws near his neck, “Listen, ‘princess’, have you ever considered how much the common people of Nohr suffer? The number of people forced to live in ditches? Sewers?”

“Nohr has always been relatively lacking compared to Hoshido’s land,” Xander steps in, “But we always do what we…”

“Cut the crap.” Some blood starts to trickle down his neck, but he still doesn’t care, “The people work themselves to sickness, even death. If the Nohrian royalty were even slightly concerned for us, they would focus their efforts on improving their daily lives.” His gaze returns to mother, “So go ahead, kill me. I’ve no fear for death.” Yato has yet to budge, “Well?!”

“You aren’t worth my time.” She sheathes her blade, before grabbing him by the shirt and hauling him up with ease. “If you can’t find the means to sustain yourself, that’s your own damn fault.” With a single hand, she tosses the man to the side like an unwanted toy, “He’s yours, Vella.” Yasei turns on her heel and walks away, some of her army is actually taken aback by her coldness.

I glance at the man, his hands and feet are bound, and his eyes carry the same fiery defiance his words showed earlier. I look him over, his dirty clothes and rather thin body is almost the model of a beggar, a thief. “Do me a favor, try and stay alive for a bit.” I copy Mother’s actions and grip him by the shirt, then share a vicious smile with Peri, “We got a new toy, let’s make it last, alright?”

She eagerly nods as she pulls out her favorite weapon, well she doesn’t use it for an actual battle since it technically isn’t a weapon at all.  _ ‘Who would use a frying pan in battle?’ _ What she loves it for, however, is how much pain she can inflict with it. “I hope you don’t break easy, because that won’t be fun at all!” She giggles madly as I carry him with me. “Now, what shall we crack first? Fingers? Feet?” I can sense the pure bliss radiating off of her.

“It’s a shame we don’t have spare healing tools,” I comment as we entire our room, “So, we’ll have to be careful.” Despite that, I have no intention on holding back.  _ ‘Blood, rend, ravage, kill.’ _ The man has long since fallen to silence, his last defiant stand, the eyes glare at us with all of its might. “Do keep fighting, I’ve no tolerance for whimpering prey.” He remains still, obviously provoking me so he’ll just be killed. “Fine then, boy.” I grab one of his bound hands gently, if I weren’t about to damage him beyond repair, it might have looked like a sensual movement. “Let’s hear your screams.” I slowly tighten my grip, it’s barely an effort on my part, but he is determined to keep himself quiet.

“I can fix that!” Peri gleefully laughs as I hear a blade being pulled out. “First, we need to make sure you don’t keep your mouth closed…” My gaze turns towards her seductive movements, the way she craves violence. She brings the dagger to his lips and gently saws into it, for a moment he still resists, before the pain becomes large enough to where holding his mouth close causes too much discomfort. “Alright, try again, killer.” She smiles at me. I nod and double my efforts and it doesn’t take long for both the satisfying crunching sound of his bones breaking to occur…  
  
“Sh-SHIT!” And the entrancing sounds of his cries of agony to follow.  _ ‘Delicious.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Savage, slightly psychotic, superiority complex, and highly aggressive. These are what this version of Velouria is.


	6. Over the Mountains and to the Woods

We depart from the boat as it docks on the closest dock near Hoshido, and the first thing I see Mother do is leap onto dry land and start praising the gods.  _ ‘It’s amusing, to say the least.’ _ She even goes so far as to throw herself onto the ground and lie down for a few moments. “I want an inn… and a bed.” She proclaims as she lazily sprawls out. Then she gives a sultry glance at Father, “But I want you more than anything right now.”

Yet before her mate had a chance to even consider the idea, Xander coughs, “We do need to get moving, we’re still on a rather tight schedule.”

“There’s our dear Crown Prince,” Camilla laughs as she passes the overly serious man, “Even when we’re performing faster than expected, he still wants to move double-time.”

“It’s for good reason, sister.” Leo starts.  _ ‘Since Xander made his order, Leo’s own order has been made null. He is bothered by it, but ultimately complies.’ _ “We never know when we’ll hit a metaphorical wall.”

Elise giggles, “Or a literal wall!”

Reluctantly, Yasei pushes herself up off of the ground, “I know, I know. Let’s get moving.” I frown at the display,  _ ‘It’s  _ **_her_ ** _ army, but it still seems Uncle Xander has the final say-so.’ _ I look at the man, who appears as regal as ever, his figure the exact definition of someone to be King.  _ ‘If you ever push her…’ _ I let my mind wander as I focus on the trail ahead.

No more than an hour passes before I let out a sigh of irritation,  _ ‘Traveling is so dull… where’s the bandits? A group of rebels?’ _ I feel Mother nudge me, “You okay, Vella?” She gives me a gentle smile.

“As well as I’m going to be.” I look away from her gaze,  _ ‘She already can tell, anyway.’ _ Then she abruptly pulls my hood down and starts rubbing my head, like Aunt Elise usually does. “Mmm…” I happily hum from the contact.

“Aw, that’s my spot…” I hear Elise whine,  _ ‘Oh gods… here we go again,’ _ so instead she opts to start massaging my shoulders.  _ ‘Why do they keep tending to me like this?’ _

“Oh, it’s time to cuddle her already?” And to top it off, Camilla has all but appeared on the other side of me, scratching my chin with her armored hand. “You are such a darling woman.”

“...I get spoiled too much.” I manage to form the words.

They all share a glance, “We love you, Vella!” They respond at the same time, as if they practiced it every day.  _ ‘They probably have, too.’ _

“I love you all, too.” I was hoping that giving them the desired answer would mean that they would let up, but not this time, apparently. “Am I… haah, forgetting something?” My face flushes as I feel my legs tremble. And just as my legs felt like they were going to give out, I feel a pair of arms scoop me up. “Peri…” She is carrying me bridal-style, while on her horse. “You planned that, didn’t you?”

“Nope! That was my idea.” I hear Mother giggle.  _ ‘Gods, she is really insistent on us sharing a bed.’ _

My head snaps back to Peri as I feel one of her hands shamelessly travel south, “Really? Now?” I ask.

She flashes me a smile, “I don’t hear you telling me to stop.” Her armored hand keeps moving and I take a breath in anticipation. “You’re the one who runs around without any clothes on.”

“My shawl is enough.” I suddenly bite my lip as her fingers comes just close enough to dance around me entrance, before she abruptly pulls them away. I let out a disappointed whine in response, “Peri…” I plead.

“Hm?” She hums, “I thought you didn’t want us to do ‘things’ in public?”

“...I suppose one time won’t hurt.” Now, she planned this part,  _ ‘She had to. That little…’ _ “Haah!” My legs clench around her still-armored fingers.

“Could you two please hold off until later?” I finally overhear Xander’s voice.

Peri gives me a full smile, her fingers still in me, “We’ll continue this later, mate.” She whispers as she withdraws, leaving a small trail of my juice with her.

“...Can I stay here? Maybe pet my stomach?” I sheepishly ask.

“I still need to guide my horse.” She counters and I sigh in resignation. Though sometime between now and making camp, she still manages to start stroking my head, slowly putting me into a blissful slumber.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mmm…” I hum as I slowly awaken after my nap,  _ ‘That was a nice one, too.’ _ I look around and notice we have arrived in a grassy field, “Are we in Hoshido already?” I ask aloud,  _ ‘The air certainly smells fresher.’ _ Yet when I look around a sudden chill hits me. I hone my senses and immediately snap to attention,  _ ‘No one is here.’ _

After assuring both my Beaststone and Dragonstone are in place, I slowly make my way around. I let out a small, short howl and wait for Father’s return howl… but there's nothing. I don't even hear Mother returning a roar. My fur stands on end while I extend my search, there isn't a single shred of life here.  _ ‘And now that I notice, the air tastes stale… no, it's worse than that. Dead, like even the air itself wants to leave.’ _ This isn't good, where is everyone? “Father!” I yell against my better judgement… and my instincts. “Mother! Aunt Camilla, Aunt Elise!” Nothing, nothing, and more nothing.

A sudden sound occurs behind me and I spin in place, still no… “No.” What lies on the ground isn't a person, but a weapon, a weapon that only Mother can wield. “Yato?” It looks darker, the purple glow has intensified, the blade itself had turned into a deep crimson, like it is constantly being covered in blood.  _ “If you attempt to wield a Divine Weapon that denies you, you will suffer an incomparable pain, you will be literally scarred for life.” _ That is what Mother told me. “MOTHER?!” I am starting to panic,  _ ‘Where is everyone? I was just with everyone…’ _ My Human starts to emerge, desperate for familiarity, my parents, family, anyone. “Mother…” My voice cracks as I approach the Divine Weapon, “Where is everyone?” I kneel in front of the blade and my fingers brush against the handle, it doesn’t hurt, nothing happened. I shakily grab it, still no pain.

I can feel the power surging through her blade and I can almost taste the magic it produces. I look over it, completely entranced,  _ ‘But mother’s Yato doesn’t look like this…’ _ I want to toss the fake aside, but I find myself unable to.  _ ‘It has her scent.’ _ I hold the blade close, hugging it as I would her. “Come back, please… Mother, Father…”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel my body being nudged and I groggily wake up, “Vella, dear. Time to wake up.” My vision clears to show Mother, wearing her usual gentle smile whenever her Human is dominant. With that horrid dream in mind, I immediately pounce out of the cot and hug her tightly, “I love you too, Vella.” She giggles as she returns the gesture.

“Don’t leave me, please.” I can’t shake the feeling that dream gave me, it’s just a dream!

“Velouria?” She is worried, if her scent wasn’t apparent enough, she also usually only uses my full name when something serious is going on.

“Bad dream.” I fight back the tears, “It felt so real.” After that, we remain silent, our embrace is the only thing going on. I have no idea how much time has passed before the tension slowly leaves me,  _ ‘She’s so warm.’ _ I plant my face closer and take a deep breath,  _ ‘Lavender.’ _ I greedily take her scent in, committing it to memory.

“Feeling better?” She gives my back a few strokes, “We do need to get going, unfortunately.”

“Yea, I’m ready, Mother.” We finally end the hug and I give her my best Human smile. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

She levels a serious gaze on me, “Don’t be sorry. Trust me dear, it’s a bad idea to keep those kinds of things locked up. If you ever feel the urge to cry or anything you might be embarrassed about, I’ll be there, or at the very least close enough for you to come to me.”

I nod, “I understand, thank you.”

She returns my smile, “Good! Now, let’s finally cross the border.” With that I make sure that both of my Stones are on me, then head out.

I spot Father, looking rather uncomfortable as Aunt Elise bounces around him, giddly chatting about something and the very second he senses me, he redirects her towards me. I internally giggle,  _ ‘He’ll get used to it, someday.’ _ “Heeeey!” Elise throws her arms around me. “How’s my favorite daughter doing?” She places a few kisses on my cheek.

“I’m well… and you’re definitely in a mood even brighter than normal.” I take note, while returning her embrace.

“Well, I might not have big brother Leo’s intuition, but I’m predicting a one-hundred percent chance of Vella cuddling today!” She giggles as her grip tightens.

I roll my eyes at her antics, “I suppose that means we’ll have to keep an eye out for that then, right?” She hums in response.  _ ‘Now, what really got her this excited?’ _ I keep the question to myself, I’m sure the answer will pop up later.

“Alright everyone!” I hear Mother’s voice echo through the camp, “Today’s the last day we’ll be in Nohr. All of our battles will be fought on Hoshido’s soil, their resistance will be tougher, and they know their land better than us. But we are also Father’s best unit, we won’t be stopped. We’ll blaze a trail towards two major points, Fort Jinya and Castle Shirasagi. We  **will** win this war and Hoshido  **will** kneel before Nohr.”

I sense Elise’s mood drop slightly, “I missed the Yasei I always visited in the Northern Fortress…” She whispers, “She used to be so much more peaceful,” She pauses, “I wish this war was over with already.” Her eyes lock onto mine, “Don’t get me wrong, a number of wonderful things have happened, but…”

“We’ll end this as fast as we can, so we can plan something fun,” I give her a reassuring smile, “Like a family picnic?” I honestly don’t know what to do, the only thing I really thought about in the Deeprealms was the war, about making Mother and Father proud by showing how strong their pup is. I never took my Human into consideration, about what will happen when the war does end.

She suddenly plants another kiss on my cheek, “I’ll be looking towards it!” She skips off over to her horse, her mood just as bright as it was earlier.

“Pup.” Father approaches me, he is fidgeting in place, a sign that he is trying to do something Human-related, “Er, Vella… daughter.”

“Yes, Father?” It’s always amusing to see him squirming like that.

“My mate… I mean, uh, Yasei suggested that I,” He trails off for a moment, “She wanted me to march next to you today.”

I can sense a very small lie with that, like he’s too embarrassed to say what he is actually supposed to do, “That sounds lovely.” I give him a smile. “Shall we?”

He nods and we start to walk, taking point near the back, since he is moving rather slow compared to normal. Over an hour in and he finally speaks up again, “And… she wanted me to… talk?”

_ ‘That’s all?’ _ There has to be something more, but he does have trouble with anything Human-related. “Father?”

“I’m trying, alright?” He immediately becomes defensive, like he always does when he feels like he isn’t doing well as a Human. “It’s not easy, but I try.”

“Take your time, I can wait for you.” I try to reassure him.

“That’s just it, though. I can’t keep taking this long!” I can sense his patience is becoming dangerously thin, “I would much prefer it if we didn’t have to partake in this… Human stuff.” His hands clench so tightly that a subtle scent of blood starts to fill the air.

“I’ll help.” I offer, “I’m not exactly having an easy time, either. You know, I’ve spent most of my time in the Deeprealms tending exclusively to my Beast and Dragon, I always wanted to make both of you proud, to see how powerful I can be.” He raises an eyebrow, but I can sense a surge of pride building up, “And I think I did it pretty well, the number of injuries have gone down and battles are ending faster. And because of that, Mother suggested that I focus on my Human more, she would like for me to seek out a husband first.”

“I…” The very thought of me focusing on a wedding first unnerves him, to say the least, “I just want you to be… happy, alright?”

The statement sounds forced, like he’s been rehearsing it, it’s devoid of the same parental emotion compared to when Mother says the same, but I nod and accept it all the same, “Thank you, Father.” I slowly approach for a quick hug, giving him time to adjust.

He still tenses as he always does, but he also ends up returning the embrace as he always does. “I’ll try and be a better Father… daughter.” His voice is strained and it also sounds forced. “...I love you, Velouria.”

“I love you too, Father.” I end the hug before it starts to grate on him, then I offer my best Human smile and he attempts to do the same, despite the fact that I can see his Beast coming very close to breaking out.  _ ‘He’s the alpha, I’m sure his Beast absolutely despises the fact that it’s being told what to do.’ _


	7. Underhanded Tactics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vella and her mother's army travel through a thick forest, where Ninjas that are aligned to the Nohrians reside. However, alarms are raised when the daughter can't smell their intents.
> 
> At the end of it, she is saved by someone claiming her to be their niece.

Father remains primarily silent throughout the march, only managing to make the most meager attempts at small talk, which usually fall around the famous lines like, ‘The weather’s nice.’ But to keep his mood up, I reply with serious answers, despite finding it rather funny. “Pu… daughter.” He keeps wanting to say ‘pup’, too.

“Yes, Father?” I patiently respond.

“I, uh…” He is starting to get nervous, _‘Another Human related question that he doesn’t really_ ** _want_** _to ask.’_ “Do… I,” He clenches his fists as he forces the words out, they still lack the proper emotion.

“You’ve done a lot today,” I calmly interrupt after an entire minute of silence, “Don’t push yourself too much, okay?”

“R-right.” He offers his hand, before pulling it back and spreading his arms instead. I smile as I gently worm my way into the embrace and taking a long, deep sniff of his scent. “You mean a lot to me, Vella.”

“Thank you. You mean a lot to me, too.” I nuzzle my head on his chest as we slowly walk, we’re starting to fall behind, but I don’t mind. _‘He needs time to adjust.’_ At least, I thought we were falling behind, but Father abruptly stops, his fur suddenly on end. I too, sense danger and break off of the embrace, my own fur on end. Mother is in the same position, her stance is tense and by now, the entire army has their weapons out.

“Ninjas.” I overhear Mother whisper. “Cover all blind spots, shoulder to shoulder, I don’t want a single gap between anyone.” With her orders out, we start forming small groups of about three, each one covering a direction.

Xander scoffs, “Are you certain they’re preparing to attack? This forest belongs to Nohr and the clan here is aligned to the Throne.”

“He is right,” A single Ninja enters, “My apologies, Crown Prince,” He gives a respectful bow, “My men are on edge, the Hoshidans continue to harass my men, they strike and leave, usually enough to cause a number of minor injuries and a few severe ones. They seek to flush us out.”

“I see…” He sheathes his Divine Weapon. “How often are these attacks?”

“Usually daily, the most breathing room we ever obtained was a mere three days.” He bows once more, _‘He smells… off. Something is interfering with his scent.’_

“Would it be too much to ask for reinforcements? If just for one battle?” He asks, “It would greatly boost morale to have the Royals themselves assist.”

“That would be a question you would need to ask my sister, Yasei. She’s the commander.” He gestures towards said person, who is all but glaring holes into the man, but it turns to a soft gaze a mere second before the ninja’s eyes turn towards her.

“Lady Yasei, may I be so bold as to ask for a single day of your army’s participation?” Yet another bow.

“Big sister?” Elise looks up at her, clearly wanting to help our allies.

Several moments pass in silence and I can see the gears shifting in her head, “One day.” She nods, “I would do more, but father has imposed a tight schedule on us.”

“One day will be, without a doubt, several months worth of inspiration. On behalf of my clan, we are all deeply honored to have you beside us.” One last bow, “Please, this way.” He turns around and proudly starts leading us through the increasingly thick forest. _‘Even the other Ninjas are lacking a proper scent.’_ I hold a growl back, I can’t tip them off to my suspicions.

Soon enough, we reach a cave, which is near unnoticeable unless you knew what you were looking for, the man continues onward, and one by one, we follow. “Well hidden,” Leo comments, “I expect no less.”

“Thank you, Lord Leo.” I roll my eyes, _‘Boot licker.’_ We finally stop in a rather spacious part of the cave, it seems to be man-made, “Here, allow us to prepare a bit of refreshments.” He offers. “I’ll have some tea and…”

“Raw meat.” Mother interrupts, “My daughter, my mate, and I will have raw meat. Do make sure the kill is fresh.”

“I… of course. Is everyone else fine with tea and sweets?” Elise eyes lighten at the mention of sugary food and is practically bouncing in place.

Aunt Camilla giggles, “Calm down, Elise.” She places a hand on her suddenly energetic little sister.

“But it’s been so long since we’ve have sugar!” She has stopped bouncing, but is still clearly overcome with excitement, “Ooo, Vella! You just **have** to have some sweets!”

 _‘Raw meat is enough of a treat for me,’_ I close my eyes and sigh, “I suppose since you suggested it.” She leaps onto me and wraps her arms around me. Mother levels a gaze with me, she doesn’t trust the man, either. I nod in return, “Aunt Elise?”

She huffs, “I want you to call me ‘Mommy Elise’!”

I smile, “Mommy Elise?”

“Yes, dear daughter?” Her energy has somehow grown even more.

“Perhaps you may loosen your grip a little?” She isn’t anywhere near harming me… but there are certain ‘bits’ rubbing against her.

“Oh, whoops.” At least she is genuinely surprised, “Oh, and here you go!” She pulls down my hood and starts rubbing my head. _‘Gods, here we go again…’_

“Mmm…” I close my eyes and prepare for when Aunt Camilla inevitably starts scratching my chin.

“You are **so** adorable!” And as if I can see into the future, Aunt Camilla starts tending to my chin with her armored hand. With her here, that just leaves…

“My Vella.” Yep, Mother has squeezed in and is rubbing my stomach. _‘Pure bliss…’_

“Eep!” I squeak as Peri sneaks up from behind and is now reaching around and caressing my breasts. “Haah… please.” This is honestly starting to become a little too much and right when I felt like I just want to pounce on Peri, all of the contact ends, “Gods you…” I sigh.

Mother sighs as she looks at the entrance of the cave, “Yasei?” Xander notices the shift in her demeanour.

“You do realize we’re going to be attacked, right?” She casually comments. “Or at the very least, the food will be poisoned.” Her Dragonstone starts glowing and she pulls out Yato, which has gained a considerably dark-purple aura over the course of the war.

“...I had my suspicions.” Leo nods.

“And what would they gain from taking us out, exactly?” Xander wonders aloud. “They are aligned with Nohr, to attack us would make them targets of both Hoshidan and Nohrian soldiers.”

“Maybe they struck a deal?” The Dark Knight shrugs, “Regardless, if they are planning such things, it will need to be dealt with.”

“Damned royalty.” I just barely overhear the man from earlier say, but it sees that even Mother and Father didn’t hear him, “You, block it off and throw it all in. Every last drop.”

My ears perk up. “Move, NOW!” I yell at the rest, thankfully, Mother and Father don’t waste a second, the rest take a few moments to understand what the general idea is, but the Ninjas were already so prepared that they have finished their tasks before I could even take a single step. Several vials were already thrown into the room, and a massive rumbles echoes as a new boulder is slammed in front of the entrance. “Gods…” I cough as the toxic vapor doesn’t even waste one second. I focus on my Beaststone, even as I can already feel my vision blurring. _‘What kind of toxin_ ** _is_** _this?!’_

“C-Cowards…” I can pick up the scent of blood coming out of several people’s mouths while my own feels like it's on the verge of doing the same. _‘Focus… Focus!’_ The Beast in me growls as I shift, the toxins seem to attach to my fur, causing the pain to multiply, _‘There are even poisons made for Shifters?!’_ I fight through it and slam on the recently added boulder, and again, again. I feel like I lost too much strength already, _‘No, not now!’_ Some of the others have passed out, if barely even alive. I wind up another punch, only for it to slap the rock for all the force I could manage.

I cry out as the vapors finally eat through my fur and I’m force to shift back, causing the decaying to slow down. _‘It burns…’_ This can’t be it, right? Taken down by a combination of toxins? “M-Mother, Father…” I whine as my consciousness fades, “I’m sorry…”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I gasp and pull myself into a hug, _‘It’s so cold…’_ I look around and see nothing but darkness, _‘Whe… am I… Have I?’_ The pieces come floating back, that Ninja, the toxins. “Mother! Father!” I yell, or at least I think I did, my throat feels like it has been ripped apart. I try to howl, but it comes out as a cough, same with a roar, and when I cry, I see blood falling to the floor along with tears. _‘It burns…’_ My body feels so cold, but my insides are burning up. _‘Help me.’_ I fall down in the constant pain, _‘So cold, but so hot,’_ one moment I want to cuddle under mountains of blankets, and the next I want to throw myself into a chilled lake. And it won’t stop! _‘Gods…’_ I need help… they need help. Are we dead?

I feel an ethereal hand graze my shoulder and out of reflex, I slap it away, _‘It smells nothing like Mother, Father, or even my Aunts and Uncles.’_ I try to get up and move, but my legs give out. The hand touches me again, it feels warm, but… I shrug it off, _‘Leave me alone! I don’t know who you are!’_ I scramble away, doing all I can to get away from the… _‘There’s more,’_ More hands start pinning me down. _‘Leave me alone!’_ I still can’t talk and… by the gods, the **pain**. _‘Make it stop, please!’_

I end up coughing blood and the multitude of hands start to attach arms, which leads to bodies. _‘They all look so fuzzy.’_ Yet, what I do know is that I never encountered their scents before, so I try to get away again.

“Stay still!” One of the bodies yell, its voice feels like it’s hammering my ears.

“Not so loud.” Another adds, “She’s sensitive, the toxins must have damaged her senses.” The voice is fighting to keep itself calm.

“Why are we even… oof!” A third adds.

“Know your place, soldier,” It’s the first one again, “We need to move, quickly!.” A pair of footsteps leave, “Peace, you’re safe now.” It… he says. “You’ll be well soon enough… niece.”


	8. The Single Thickest Person Alive

I violently cough and fall off of whatever I am on, “Grr…” I let out a growl, but it comes out hacked and distorted,  _ ‘Gods, my throat.’ _ I feel arms wrap around me,  _ ‘Let me go!’ _ I try to struggle, but it comes to no use. I am placed back on whatever I was lying on, it feels sort of comfortable, at least. “G…” I try to speak again, but my throat,  _ ‘It feels torn up.’ _

“Please, stop trying to talk.” I hear a voice state, but all it does to me is serve for more reason to move. “And please stay still.”

_ ‘No, I won’t. Mother… Father.’ _ I move around as I sniff the air and my body finally settles as I catch their scents,  _ ‘I need to see them.’ _ I grit my teeth as I force my open, the light is… strangely soothing, instead of the harsh glare I was expecting, still it takes a few moments for the blurriness to end. I am in some sort of infirmary, but for what? My fur bristles as it hits me,  _ ‘That man, the toxins.’ _ I unconsciously growl, but it comes out once again as a hacking cough. The healer attempts to push me down again, but I gather the strength and shove her back, she lands ungracefully on the ground.

“P-Please,” She looks up at me with huge eyes, already glistening with tears,  _ ‘Pathetic.’ _ She grips her staff like it’s the only thing keeping her alive, “you n-need r-rest.” Her hair is only a slightly lighter red than Selena’s, but unlike Aunt Camilla’s retainer, this one looks frail. Disregarding her advice, I push myself off the cot, determined to find my parents.  _ ‘G-gods!’ _ I take one step and nearly fall over, “P-p-please!” She tries to redirect me towards the cot once more.  _ ‘Back. Off.’ _ The lack of speech and her insistence is pushing my patience. She freezes in place as I manage my best intimidating glare, with the universal message sent, I shove her out of my way. With some of my strength already returning, she is sent several feet back, her staff falls one way while her back hits the ground and when she looks up, I meet her eyes with another glare.  _ ‘Stay put.’ _

Now that the woman has learned her place, I make my way out of this tent, following the scent trail, “Gods, what are you doing up?” Another nuisance walks up to me and… wait. My eyes scan the figure over, red armor, long and spiky hair, and that scent that I picked up back at Cheve. I immediately take a defensive stance,  _ ‘That freak who wanted Mother to ‘return’ to Hoshido.’ _ I don’t remember his name and I don’t care. I bare my fangs and focus on… my eyes widen,  _ ‘Where are my Stones?!’ _ I pat my body over,  _ ‘No, no no no no. Mother got me my Dragonstone and my Beaststone was my Father’s, before he took the Beastrune off of that Kitsune leader’s corpse.’ _ I search my body again, not like there’s anywhere to hide it, and,  _ ‘Where’s my shawl?!’ _ I have this robe over me.

“Please, return.” My fur bristles as he reaches out, before gasping in shock as I grip his arm, even without my Stones, I can still channel my Beast and Dragon, but to a much lesser extent.  _ ‘At least, not without risking losing myself.’ _ His armor starts to give way as I tighten it,  _ ‘Where are my Stones!?’ _

“Release him.” Two sets of shurikens are trained on me, both from those Ninjas back in Cheve. I reluctantly let go.

“Thank you Saizo and Kagero, but I can handle her from here.” He nods,  _ ‘You fool!’ _ “Please, return to your posts.” And like the obedient dogs they are, the two vanish. “Now then,” He is talking to air as I resume following the scent trail, “Wait!” I lock onto a tent, but am unable to open the flap before he is in my way again. “Everyone else is in a worse condition than you were.” My blood boils at the mere thought of my parents being harmed,  _ ‘This idiot doesn’t know what to say to even remotely calm me down.’ _ I go to shove him out of the way as I did that pathetic woman, but he stands his ground, “You’re going to leave me no choice.” I bare my fangs, but this time, he picks me up with ease, making sure my arms are pinned. “You  **need** to rest.” All I can do is flail as he takes me back to that tent.  _ ‘Mother, Father…’ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awaken once more,  _ ‘They must have used a Sleep Staff.’ _ That teary-eyed woman is still tending to me and she startles once I start moving. “Pl-please…” It seems all she can do is beg.  _ ‘Aunt Elise is leagues better than her, I bet she could even floor this sorry excuse.’ _ Remaining stubborn, I force myself up again, before I find my muscles locking up on me,  _ ‘What?!’ _ If that was a staff, I never heard of such a thing. I know there is a staff that can freeze people in place, but not one that prevents any movement. “L-let me f-fix you some t-tea…” Another growl comes out as a cough,  _ ‘I don’t want tea! I want to see my parents! I want my Stones!’ _ Oblivious to my mental protests, she starts making some tea. “I-I wish I c-could have seen you gr-growing up.” She comments as she works on the tea.

_ ‘What are you talking about?’ _ Unable to do anything else, I give her a curious look. She smiles as she approaches with a fresh cup of tea, “Here, this should help with your throat, please drink it slowly.” Her stutter is suddenly gone. She puts the cup to my lips and I part my mouth to let her pour some in,  _ ‘At least it tastes good.’ _ She giggles as I let out an involuntary hum of approval. “I’m glad you like it.” She reaches out with her other hand to touch my head and I immediately recoil,  _ ‘Good to know I can move already.’ _ She flinches as I give her another glare, “S-sorry…” And her stutter returns, then offers the tea once more. She takes my lack of reaction as an ‘okay’ and places the cup near my mouth once more,  _ ‘This is so embarrassing.’ _ Still, at least the tea is good, a little too minty now that I think about it…

Or maybe that’s the medicine in it as I feel my throat regain some feeling. “Pa…” Is all I can get out before I cough again,  _ ‘Damn it!’ _

“Please give it some time!” She can’t seem to decide if she has a stutter or not.  _ ‘She is starting to get on my nerves.’ _ She offers the tea a third time, but I turn away from it, unwilling to play along. “I can’t give you the medicine any other way right now, please… eep!” I knock her away again, “Th-the spell sh-shouldn’t have w-worn off yet…” She mutters to herself, the still-hot tea is splattered across her dress. She looks at me with teary eyes, “Please…”

“Stop!” I finally manage to regain my voice and she recoils, “Yasei, Keaton.” I can’t get myself to form more than a word at a time,  _ ‘This is so stupid!’ _

“They’re still recovering, like you.” There is a heavy scent of concern on her as she gets up, seemingly unwilling to stay down. She gives a small smile, “Though you’ve recovered a lot faster. Ah!”

I push her away again, more like an unwanted toy than the human she is, “Shut. Up.” That seems to have broken her resolve and she is now crying. “Pathetic.”

Her wails seem to have been some sort of alarm and two more people enter the tent, a woman with a katana and a man with a spear, “Lady Sakura!” The woman kneels in front of her.

“I… j-just wanted to h-help her…” Sakura desperately hugs the woman.

The man just stands there, giving me a reprimanding gaze, but otherwise staying silent.  _ ‘He has the scent of scorn, but he is somehow wears a fierce expression.’ _ Why is it towards me? I don’t even know this person! “Sit down.” The woman walks up to me, as if she can force me back. “Lady Sakura wishes to he…” I cut her off by easily gripping her by the chest armor, my hand cracking into the metal.  _ ‘I’m using too much of my Beast…’ _ I can feel my control slipping.

“My Stones…” I demand as a finger breaks through the armor. “Now.”

“With that attitude…?” She starts and attempts to kick herself free.

“Lady Velouria, please,” The man finally speaks up,  _ ‘He knows my name?’ _ I release my grip on the girl and turn towards him, “Thank you.” He offers an empty smile.

“Beaststone, Dragonstone.” I state once more. “My shawl.”

“High Prince Ryoma has all the valuables under constant protection, there’s no need to worry about them.” He misunderstands my intention.

“Give. Me. My. Stuff.” I feel the Beast rising, my Dragon isn’t too far behind.

“I…” He starts.

“I’m going to go feral if I don’t get them back.” My first full sentence since waking up, “I  **need** those Stones.”

With the consequences finally hammered into their thick skulls, the man nods, “I will bring it up to Lord Ryoma at once, then.” He bows to Sakura, “Please, excuse me.”

“Please, lay down.” Sakura finds her voice, her grip on her staff even tighter than before.

“I want to see my parents.” She hesitates, “I swear, if anything happened to them…” A growl exits me as the Beast comes ever closer to escaping without my say-so.  _ “Never shift without a Stone, Vella. You might lose control and never be able to shift back.” _ My mother gave me that warning the second I was old enough to understand words. I take a breath, willing the animals calm.

“I will take them to you, if you promise to rest a bit, first.” She finally offers.

“...Fine.” I get back into the cot by myself, appeasing the whiny healer. The other woman glares while Sakura smiles at me.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura slowly tends to my wounds for hours on end, even going so far as to down a potion to keep herself going.  _ ‘Why is she so intent on tending to me?’ _ It makes no sense to me,  _ “I wish I could have seen you growing up.” _ What is that supposed to mean? This is the first time I ever saw her. My fingers trace the smooth ocean blue surface of my Dragonstone, before bumping along the spiky red surface of my Beaststone. “How are you?” She asks.

“I’ve rested for much longer than a ‘bit’.” I bring up.

“I need to know if you feel well, first.” She keeps making excuses.

“Lady Sakura is the best healer, it would be best to heed her advice.” The woman, Hana as I have learned, states.

I glare at her,  _ ‘No one is better than Aunt Elise.’ _ She returns the glare, “I’ll feel better once I’ve seen them.” I push the topic.  _ ‘I’m not waiting anymore, I’ve recovered more than enough to force my way there.’ _

Sakura seems to have acknowledged this and she relents, “Okay, this way.” With her stutter absent, she offers her hand, I simply ignore the attempt and get out of the cot myself. “Please, follow me.” She sounds hurt,  _ ‘Good.’ _ We both exit the tent and she guides me across the same trail as I took before, “They’re in here.” She opens the flap…

“Mother! Father!” They lie unconscious, but alive. “Where is everyone else?” No Elise, Camilla, anyone. “WHERE ARE THEY?” My parents stir, but don’t awaken, while Sakura recoils.

“W-we left them b-behind…” She shrinks back.

“You… idiots!” I snarl, “You left my family in there?! In a room full of toxins?” Both of my Stones start glowing intensely.

“We’re your family!” Ryoma enters.

I glare at him, “I’m Nohrian royalty.” I proudly proclaim, even with this disgusting Hoshidan robe on me.  _ ‘I refuse to wear my hand-stitched shawl with this garbage.’ _

“Corrin…”

“Her name is Yasei.” I interrupt, causing Mother to stir once more. “What did you do to us?”

“We’re bringing you home, niece.” He offers a smile.

“Niece?” I spit back, “I’m disgusted to even think to consider you family.” He somehow does not flinch, “Return us at once, fool.” We don’t belong here.

“The Nohrians stole your mother…” He continues.

“How thick is your skull?!” I gesture towards my parents, “They don’t consider you family, why should I? You took us away from the family I know and love!”

“Vella…” Mother mutters, finally waking up, and I am by her side the same second, “Hey.” She weakly smiles.

“Mother…” I grip her hand, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough to get us out of that room.” My eyes drop…

But she moves a hand, places it under my chin and lifts my head up, “It’s alright. That won’t stop me from loving you, or being so proud of you.” Her Human smile is probably the single most beautiful thing ever. “But, please do your mother a favor? Get some rest, okay?”

“We need to…” She shakes her head.

“My mate and I aren’t fit to move, please rest.” Her hand glides across my robe to where the purple patch of fur on my stomach is and she starts scratching, I then let out a hum of approval. “There’s my beautiful girl.” Then a rather mischievous smile forms, “I think I finally understand your preference for just your shawl now. I never realized how lovely your fur and scales are until they were hidden by that robe.” She strokes my stomach for just a bit longer, “Alright, I won’t even ask for you to wear a bra.”

“Mother!” My face flushes and she giggles, then yawns,  _ ‘What  _ **_did_ ** _ they do to us?’ _ Her hand has yet to leave my stomach,  _ ‘Screw this dress and screw modesty.’ _ With Mother’s comment in mind, I rip off the offending clothes, getting a squeak out of Sakura and a surprised cough from Ryoma. “Better?” I whisper.

“Mhm.” I can tell she’s falling back asleep, since the rubbing has finally slowed to a stop. “Love you, Vella.”

“I love you, too…” I drop my voice, “Ya-ma.” With that nickname stated, she falls asleep with a peaceful smile. I look at Father, who is still fast asleep, then turn to leave. Ryoma is looking away with another one of those damn dresses in his hands, Sakura has left. “I want my shawl, not this junk.” I bat it away, ripping several holes in the process.

He sighs, “I’m not letting you run around almost naked.”

“I don’t care what you think.” I counter and manage to slip out, stark naked, not that I care.  _ ‘I only want my shawl because Aunt Elise made it for me.’ _ I inevitably get several gasps as I walk around in my full glory.  _ ‘We better be getting out of here soon.’ _


	9. Bat Your Eyelashes and Call Him 'Uncle'

I reluctantly travel with the Hoshidans, since Mother and Father are still recovering. Father is on edge, like me, but Mother? She somehow manages to adjust well, she knows these people are her blood family, but I don’t understand, they took us away from our family, the ones  **we** love. “Vella, dear.” Mother approaches me one night, she is wearing a dress, since the armor no longer fits due to the increasing bulge on her stomach. “We’re stopping by a Deeprealm.”

I fidget for a moment,  _ ‘Not for me.’ _ I have to remind myself, “Wait, but the Deeprealms…”

She giggles, “Dear, the Dragon’s Gate holds access to the OUTrealms.” She pats me on the head, “DEEPrealm portals are scattered across both Nohr and Hoshido.” She gives me a gentle smile, “I don’t blame you for getting them mixed up.”

“Oh,” I slowly nod, “How long will it take?” The idea of having a younger sibling excites me.

She smiles, but unlike the one she just did, this one comes out as mischievous, “A few weeks, it wasn’t hard to get Ryoma to stop by one.”

“...So that’s the reason why you adjusted so quickly.” Now it makes sense.

She nods, “Just bear with them a little longer, I mean, might as well take advantage of the hospitality while we’re here.” She rubs her stomach, “Sakura says I’ll have a son. My Kana.”

“Kana.” I echo.

“Father chose your name, and I get the next one. We’ll keep alternating.” I can tell by the flush on her face that she intends on having a lot of pups with Father. “I wonder what he will look like…” She starts humming a tune as she takes a seat, “I hope this war ends soon.”

“When will our family…?” I trail off.

“Ryoma wants the Hoshidans to regroup at Fort Jinya, from there the defenses will be the Great Wall, and finally the castle.” She counts off, a plan already forming. “We’ll play along until the others catch up.” She unsheathes and looks at her Yato, the purple aura has slowly start to become darker and more like a cloud. “Four royals, and I will kill them all, for father.” I can see her Dragon starting to rise, anticipating the blood that will be shed.

I too, am becoming rather eager, they will be, without a doubt, the strongest ones we face,  _ ‘Kill, rip, ravage, rend.’ _ A savage smile crosses my face,  _ ‘I wonder how rich their blood will be? The flesh?’ _

Mother’s giggle breaks me from my thoughts, “Don’t forget to share, dear.” She flashes her fangs at me, “We’ll all get a piece… all four of us.” I nod,  _ ‘One of Kana’s first meals will be a Hoshidan Royal… gods, if that’s not spoiling him, I don’t know what is.’ _ I honestly feel jealous, “Trust me, if I had the chance, it would have been one of your first ones, too.”

“Am I really that easy to read?” There’s no way scents go that far… or that specific.

“Vella, you’re my daughter. I would be more worried if I couldn’t get a good guess at what you’re thinking,” She smiles, “Besides, you’re drooling.”

I wipe my mouth and sure enough, a helping of drool has escaped my mouth, “Mother…” I sigh as she pulls me into a hug. “Mmm.” I hum.

“Do take care of yourself, alright?” Her voice suddenly adopts a much more suggestive tone. “It’s a good idea to relieve yourself every so often.”

“Mother!” I squeak out, my face feels like it’s burning.  _ ‘Gods, no shame at all!’ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We end up at the Deeprealm portal within a few days, ‘Uncle’ Ryoma was exceptionally eager to get us there,  _ “Just stay on their good side, okay?” _ Mother told me,  _ “For now, Ryoma is ‘Uncle’ and Sakura is ‘Aunt’.” _ The very idea tastes sour, but I comply. “V-Velouria?” Sakura calls my name out,  _ ‘At least she isn’t saying Vella…’ _

I internally sigh, “Aunt Sakura.” Gods, it feels so wrong to say that.

She smiles, some of her nervousness leaves, “How are you doing today?” Her face flushes as she quickly looks me over, the Hoshidans have given up on trying to keep a dress on me, so I can finally walk around with just my shawl.

“I’m feeling better.” I give her the answer  **she** wants to hear. “And you?”

She quickly nods, “Much better. I’m so happy we’re back together again.” She hugs me and it takes all of my willpower to not tense or push her away. “You smell nice.” I wrap a scaled arm around her, “And you’re so warm.” I close my eyes,  _ ‘Don’t… please, just stop.’ _ This is nothing short of torture,  _ ‘Please tell me the time in this Deeprealm moves even faster, gods know my patience is already running thin.’ _

“...Thank you.” I relent to her constant praise,  _ ‘At least she isn’t petting my head.’ _ I internally pause,  _ ‘Or scratching my stomach… or back… or under my chin.’ _ I glance over at the spot where Mother left through the portal, its shimmering surface still sends chills down my spine.  _ ‘I’m so sorry you’ll have to deal with it too, Kana.’ _ I make a promise to myself, I will make sure that time is made up.

“She’ll be back soon.” Ryoma walks up,  _ ‘The single thickest person ever to exist.’ _ He places a hand on my shoulder. He might have said something, but I have tuned him out,  _ ‘Get your damn hand off of my shoulder!’ _ I  **want** to lash out, I don’t want these… things to touch me!  _ ‘Gods, please hurry up.’ _ My Dragon roars, the Beast growls, and I force myself to push both of them back, I need to be attuned to my Human right now. “Don’t you think so too, niece?”

Great, he asked me something and I didn’t even hear it, “Sure, yea.” I brush him off, yet somehow my answer still pleases him,  _ ‘How did this guy not get killed already?’ _ Every minute seems like an hour as I not-so-patiently wait for Mother to return. The only thing keeping me sane is the anticipation of a sibling,  _ ‘What will he look like? More like Mother? What will…’ _ My thoughts are broken as the portal finally shimmers once more and both Mother and Father arrive. “Mother!” I throw myself into her arms, thankful to get away from them.

“Hold on, dear Vella.” She takes a breath, “I’m still going to need some rest.” She may say that, but that didn’t stop her from lifting me into the air.

“What’s he like?!” I ask the second she puts me down. Mother giggles, before stroking my face some, “Mmm…”

“I’ll tell you later, okay?” She smiles, showing off her fangs. I simply nod in response as she continues to outright spoil me,  _ ‘It feels so good…’ _ She looks up from me, “He’ll be about a week before he’s ready to travel.”  _ ‘A week? That’s around five days shorter than my stay.’ _

Ryoma lets out a small cough, “Are you sure you want to bring him so early? I wouldn’t want…”

“He’s my pup, he’ll be fine.” Keaton cuts him off.  _ ‘My brother. I have a brother.’ _

“Sister?” The High Prince presses.

“He’s my mate’s pup, he’ll be fine.” Yasei echoes the Wolfskin’s words.

“B-but, he’s yours, too.” Sakura states.

Father is steadily losing his patience, “We’re a…” I start, but Mother gently shushes me.

“Sister,” Mother starts, “I know it’s hard to understand, but I chose to become a mate with Keaton, not a wife, there’s a number of differences, and I have willingly decided to accept those changes.”

“I…” She doesn’t get it, of course she doesn’t.  _ ‘Aunt Elise is the only human that could.’ _

“This is what I want, trust me.” Mother gently smiles, “Being his mate has brought me so much joy and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Her gaze returns to Ryoma, “Can we stay here for the week?”

“Lord Ryoma,” The ninja, Saizo, starts, “We need to return to Fort Jinya and fortify our defenses as soon as possible.”

“Big brother…” And now she is giving him a pleading look,  _ ‘She looks so cute now.’ _

“Lord Ryoma…” I hear his other ninja, Kagero, whisper, clearly displeased with Mother’s request.

The man relents, “Very well. I will write up my orders for the Fort, so at least we can assure we have all the supplies we need.”

“Thank you, big brother.” Mother forms a huge smile,  _ ‘Gods, this guy is so easy to bend.’ _ I have to fight back a giggle at this display, the ‘High Prince’, Ryoma, one of the single strongest people in Hoshido, and he can’t even say no to a single request from Mother…

_ ‘Pathetic.’ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days have passed in relative peace, despite a number of ‘Uncle’ Ryoma’s troops starting to get restless. While they stay silent, it isn’t hard to assume why they are growing so uncomfortable,  _ ‘All of it is pointed towards Ryoma’s near obsession to make sure Mother’s requests are fulfilled.’ _ The laughable part is, he thinks all of this will cement the fact that we have no reason to even think of Nohr as home.  _ ‘Fool.’ _

I take from Mother’s suggestion and I have also started to take advantage of their hospitality, it seems Sakura and Ryoma are just as eager to see my ‘needs’ done.  _ ‘If only I could Peri was here.’ _ I shake my head and push that thought away,  _ ‘No, she wouldn’t want to be here, since she wouldn’t be able to spill their blood.’ _ My core heats at the very thought of her presence,  _ ‘Gods, I want her so bad. I want to have her, to be able to claim her for my own.’ _

“Niece?” Sakura’s voice snaps me from my thoughts, “Y-your turn.”

It takes me a half-second to remember we are playing some board game meant for children,  _ ‘Yet it brings a smile to her face.’ _ I nod, “Right.”  _ ‘I’m only doing this to… No, it’s shameful to admit, but this  _ **_is_ ** _ enjoyable.’ _ We didn’t have this type of stuff in Nohr, the resources are too limited to ‘waste’ on things like this. I look at my pieces over,  _ ‘Checkers, was it?’ _ A few various games proved that I didn’t really have a knack for anything intricate, so she eventually decided on this.  _ ‘Not nearly as many rules as chess.’ _ Gods know I don’t want to touch that game again,  _ ‘And Uncle Leo loves that one, apparently.’ _ Pushing my thoughts aside before I get lost in them again, I choose one of my chips and move it forward. At least, I was going to, but Sakura gave me a questioning look,  _ ‘Bad move?’ _ I look at the board once more,  _ ‘Where… oh.’ _ With my hand still on it, I pull it back to its previous spot and grab a different one,  _ ‘Two in one move…’ _ I deftly take two of her pieces.

She smiles, despite the loss, “You’re learning fast.” She seems to be getting comfortable near me,  _ ‘She still recoils from my hand, if only slightly.’ _ “But, you still have plenty to learn,” She ends up taking four of mine,  _ ‘Gods…’ _ “King me.” Holding back a sigh of aggravation, I give her the satisfaction of her ‘King’ piece.  _ ‘That one move costed me this round.’ _ I don’t even know how!  _ ‘She must have been hinting at that one piece, but…’ _ Next round, I assure myself. Can’t afford to get angry.

“I wouldn’t suggest moving that one.” Mother’s voice rings out as she takes a spot beside me, before wrapping her arms around me, but under my arms so I can still play.  _ ‘Gods, she is almost completely covered in musk.’ _ Still, it brings a smile to my face,  _ ‘They’re already trying for another pup… child.’ _ Mother removes one of her arms and points towards a different piece, “That one, over there.” Her other arm remains wrapped around me and she is now leaning her head on my shoulder.  _ ‘The smell of sex is starting to get overwhelming.’ _ My own core burns with some jealousy.

“Sister!” Sakura pouts, but ultimately does nothing from Mother helping me. I eagerly follow her advice, which at the very least closes the gap between our pieces before ‘Aunt’ Sakura wins.  _ ‘Better than having her chips dominate the board.’ _ The Shrine Maiden gives me a gentle smile, “Another?”

“She would love to.” Mother ends up answering for me, before digging her head even further, pointedly avoiding my gaze. My face burns with embarrassment as it eventually ends up in my lap,  _ ‘And she has no intention of moving.’ _ She lets out a hum of approval, “You’re really warm today, Vella.”

_ ‘Gods, Mother…’ _ Sakura is thankfully oblivious to what she is  **actually** referring to.

“Dear, have you…?” She shamelessly asks,  _ ‘She is practically still drowning in lust, no wonder.’ _

“No.” Why are you asking that here?!

“You know…” She trails off.

“Yes, I know.” I wish she would change the topic.

“Lacking inspiration?” A feel something nudge my side, I look down to see she has  **her** book in her hand. “You left this by accident.” I quickly snatch the treasured book from her,  _ ‘It still mostly has her scent on it.’ _ I take a sniff,  _ ‘Gods…’ _ My own scent is starting to, wait, I take another smell,  _ ‘She used this! When, oh…’ _ It hits me, that wasn’t Father’s musk I was smelling on her, “It is my favorite one, after all.” She states after noticing my reaction.

“Sister? Niece?” Very thankfully, Sakura is still oblivious.

“...I need a few minutes.” I finally say, “I’ll play again later.” I hurriedly leave the small gaming area, returning to my small tent to tend to myself.  _ ‘It is so wrong that we’re both using the same one.’ _ Yet, I can’t deny the fact that such a lust-drowned book does wonders on exciting me, it honestly doesn’t matter whose scent is on it, as long as it’s lust-filled. I look at the book as I lie down on my cot and move my other hand to hover around my core, breathing a sharp gasp as I ready myself.

_ ‘Sweet release…’ _


	10. More Human Than Beast or Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter Kana.

Mother has gone to visit over four times every day to check up on Kana, it makes me jealous, but I can understand that she would have done the same with me, given the chance. Unfortunately, she is the only one who goes in, apparently, the rulers of the Deeprealms have a number of rules when letting a child be raised in there. This specific one states that it actually becomes dangerous if a lot of ‘Outside’ people enter at once. So, usually it’s just Mother, or her and one other person who goes to visit Kana…

Except me, I have yet to see him,  _‘She has her reasons.’_ Mother has been almost infuriatingly vague with her descriptions on Kana, even ‘Aunt’ Sakura and ‘Uncle’ Ryoma know what he looks like more than me, but then again, they’ve only seen him once, about after a year has passed in the Deeprealm. After that, it has just been Mother and Father.

Currently, I am waiting for Mother to return from her fifth visit to Kana’s Deeprealm today, she just looks so happy every visit, but almost as equally sad when she exits, if just for a moment. “Velouria.” Sakura gently calls out. She seems nervous, well, more nervous than usual, “We won’t be able to stay here much longer.”

_‘Wait, what?’_ I spare a glance at her, “How long?”

She taps her staff, “A day at most.” She looks away, “The Nohrian army is pushing hard, we need to be at our positions soon.”

I hold back a scoff,  _‘We’re going to run over all of you.’_ I return my sight towards the portal, “We’ll be fine.”  _‘And by we, I mean Nohr.’_

She lightly giggles, “I know, we have our family, we’ll make it.”  _‘Please hurry…’_ I close my eyes and sigh, willing the frustration away.

The portal shimmers once more, as both my Mother and Father exit, “Vella, dear.” Keaton walks away as she approaches me, “I’m sorry for holding you here,” She smiles and places a hand on my shoulder, “well, come on.”

My own face brightens, “I get to see him!”

She nods, but raises a finger, “One thing, he is not nearly as tuned to his Beast or Dragon.” With that out of the way, she returns walking towards the portal and I am close behind.  _‘He’s more Human than any of us?’_ I feel the ever strange pull of walking through the magical gateway. Unlike my Deeprealm, this one is stationed in a village. The Deeprealm villagers greet us with friendly smiles. “Kana? Where are you?” She calls out.

“Momma!” A boy runs up to Yasei, the best way to describe him is that he is the opposite of me. Wherever I have fur, he has scales, where I have scales, he has fur. His hair color is evenly split between white, black, and purple, his eyes and face matches Mother’s. “I missed you so much!” That declaration hit me hard,  _‘She wasn’t even gone for a few minutes… how much faster is this one?’_ He then looks over to me, “Are you my big sister?” His eyes turn wide, “Um, where are your clothes…?”

_‘But you are as… oh.’_ It took me until now to realize he actually has a set of armor just like Mother’s, but it’s colored to look like his own scales, making it seem like he has nothing on. “All I have is the shawl Aunt Elise made me.”

“Aunt… Elise?” He looks confused. “I know about Sakura and Hinoka, but Elise?”

I spare a glance at Mother, who shrugs, “I tried explaining it, but it goes over his head a bit.” She sheepishly smiles.

A scoff exits me, “Sakura and Hinoka aren’t family.”

My cold dismissal startles him, “Wh-what?” He looks from Mother to me. “Momma?”

“I was hoping to save that for when we’re back where we need to be, but,” She takes a breath, “She’s right, dear. Keep this in mind, we are not Hoshidan, we are Nohrians.”

“O...kay?” My brother looks so lost. “But you called Sakura ‘sister’.”

She pats his head, earning a hum of approval from him, “Kana. They are related by blood, but we are not to consider them family. They caused momma and papa a lot of harm, okay?”

“They did?”  _‘Gods, she really didn’t tell him anything.’_ “But…”

“Shh,” She coos as the patting turns to a head scratch, my brother is now pushing himself against her hand, and he is letting out a pleasant growl, but his growl seems so much less… bestial. “Anyway, Kana this is your sister, Velouria.” I walk towards him.

“Hiiii sister.” He is still in paradise as Mother continues to shower him with attention. I smile as I scratch under his chin, like how Aunt Camilla does with me. It seems he has the same preference as his growling turns into more of a whimper, “Mmm…”

“Kana, dear.” Mother breaks the silence, “How would you like to travel with us?”

That snaps him out of his serene state, “Really?! I can leave?” He is now practically bouncing in place, kind of like how Aunt Elise would do. “When? When?”

“I’ll be returning tomorrow morning, er, my tomorrow that is.” She smiles as she pulls him in for a quick hug, “But, it’s going to be dangerous. The outside world unforgiving, so I need to know if you can handle it.” The atmosphere gets more serious with each word.

Yet my brother’s mood seems unbothered, “I can handle it!”

“Even if it involves killing other people?” He falters for a half-second at Mother’s question, but then quickly nods, “I know you aren’t as in tune with your Dragon or Beast as your sister is, so it will be tougher for you.” She flashes a smile, “But I know you will do fine, you are my little Kana, after all.”

I can see his eyes practically sparkling, “Oh, this is so great!” He leaps into our mother’s arms and wraps his own around her, his giggles echo through the town. I simply smile at the display,  _‘He is, without a doubt, more Human than the rest of us.’_

* * *

The addition of Kana to Mother’s army has definitely made the place much more lively, as the boy practically hops from person to person, wearing wide eyes as he asks to know more about them, and even though Elise is not related to him, I can’t help but see her bright and sunny nature in him.  _‘It’s strange, but nice.’_ My mood dampens slightly at the thought of being away from our family,  _‘Gods, I can only imagine how Aunt Camilla is taking all of this.’_

“Sister!” Kana leaps onto me and wraps his arms around me, giggling madly, “How’re doing?” His eyes and huge smile mean so much to me. I can see his fangs, but compared to Mother’s they are slightly duller, the tips of his ears aren’t as pointed, the red in his eyes are more subdued, and both his Dragon and Beast seem to be lurking at a distance.  _‘How did he turn out so much more Human?’_

“I’m well.” I reply with a nod, before rubbing his head as Aunt Elise would do me, my brother hums in approval as he pushes his head closer. “And you?”

“I feel wonderful!” He almost sings, “Everyone here is so nice and happy.” HIs smile only seems to grow, “Even that usually grumpy Ninja man Uncle Ryoma has.”

_‘‘Uncle’ Ryoma…’_ I resist the urge to roll my eyes, “And how have your Dragon and Beast been faring?”

He lets go and tilts his head and hums for a bit, his head swaying along in time with his sounds, “Quiet, usually.” He admits after a few minutes, “I never really hear much growling or roaring like you, Mother, or Father does.” Yet his mood never have seem to went down, “They still got me my Stones, though!” He proudly shows off his Dragonstone and Beaststone. “What’s it like? Hearing them so often, I mean?”

“They can get pretty aggressive,” I decide to just give it to him honestly, “They usually call out for blood and death, but that’s really it. I can push them aside if I care to.”

“...blood.” He finally falters, “Death?” He suddenly looks so much smaller, “I’m… glad I don’t hear that.”

“Little brother…” I reach out to him, “We’re Shifters, you’ll hear the call sooner or later, and you’ll come to like it, trust me.”

“Were you the same way?” He looks so fragile.

_‘No use lying, even if he isn’t as attuned, he can smell lies… I think.’_ I shake my head, “No, I’ve always been close to my Animals, and I’ve always enjoyed the hunt.”

“It doesn’t sound fun.” He frowns,  _‘This is getting bad.’_

“Have you ever actually Shifted yet?” I try to redirect the conversation towards something relevant, but better.

“It’s hard, but yes.” He nods, “Mother and Father made it looks so easy.”

“Have you ever thought of training in something like a sword?” I offer, “You can still channel your Dragon or Beast as a human, you know.”

“...huh, they never mentioned that.” Slowly, his mood starts to rise again, “I think I’ll try that!” With that, he skips off, a clear joy in each movement.  _‘He is so adorable… Camilla would probably shower him in attention.’_ The very thought of Aunt Camilla pulling him into her style of hugs, followed by hours of cuddling immediately springs to mind, and it brings a smile to my face.


	11. A Risky Maneuver

Kana has taken to the sword quite well, as he already far surpassed the average soldier, which considering his Draconic and Bestial strengths doesn't make it that surprising. His style is strikingly similar to Mother’s, despite the little amount of skill she has, instead my brother has grown on that, mixing in both Nohrian and Hoshidan techniques into the already unique display.

He is fast on his feet, almost to the point where he looks like he is flowing, instead of sharp jerks. His strikes are extremely precise, but with his Animals, they are also extremely potent.  _ ‘He is just as deadly as me, but without actually Shifting.’ _ However, unlike me, he tends to spend most of his time acting more as a child enjoying their childhood, rather than a pup learning to be a wolf.

I tend to catch him practicing on instruments with Sakura, even singing as he does. He even got her to dance with him.  _ ‘Actually, now that I think about it, he spends a lot of time with her.’ _ The two have grown to be fond of each other, too close,  _ ‘He knows we’re going to have to kill her, so why?’ _ It has gotten to the point where it is rare to not see them apart.

“Mother.” I smile as she approaches me, “Why is…”

“It’s what he wants, dear.” She interrupts me, clearly knowing what I am thinking, “I won’t stop him.”

“But she will,” I trail off, not even wanting to finish the statement.  _ ‘It’s so hard to declare when I can see him having the time of his life with her.’ _

“...He knows,” She glances away for a moment, in the direction Kana is in, Sakura’s presence isn’t too far off, “He is old enough to understand.”

That statement catches me off-guard, “Really?”

She nods with a smile, “You do realize how old he is, right?” I tilt my head,  _ ‘He looks and acts so young.’ _ “Vella dear, he’s naturally shorter than mostly everyone. He won’t grow anymore than he has already.”

“He is a little shorter than Aunt Elise.” I point out, “I have a hard time believing that.”

“Vella, he’s older than you.” She starts giggling as I gawk at her. “I asked for a Deeprealm that went by faster than the others, and I got one, which is why I visited him so often.”

“My little brother is older than me…?” The idea sounds absurd.

“Only a few months younger than me, probably.” She seems to be enjoying herself,  _ ‘And if I couldn’t smell emotions, I’d call her a liar, but… not a tinge of deceit.’ _

“My little brother, is stuck at a height shorter than Aunt Elise and he is also almost as old as you,” I am trouble grasping those facts, “Gods…”

She wraps an arm around me, her mood as bright as it always is when her Human is showing, “I love you, Vella.”

“I love you too, mother.” I smile as she pulls me into a hug.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am standing on the edge of the training area as Kana works on his swordplay, he is currently on his fifth wooden sword, as they keep breaking from the sheer force he puts behind his attacks.  _ ‘He is older than me…’ _ He certainly shows his age when he focuses like this, when the childish aura is replaced by this fierce demeanor,  _ ‘I can definitely see Father in him when he is like that.’ _ The Animals behind his eyes seem so much closer, his strikes become much more aggressive, and he seems every bit the fighter I am.  _ ‘But he insists he rather not fight.’ _

A snapping sound breaks me from my thoughts as half of the wooden sword flies through the air and lands near me,  _ ‘...wow.’ _ I catch his gaze, the seriousness lasts a mere half-second before it brightens, “Sister!” He runs over and throws his arms around me, “How long have you been here?”

“A while,” I reply as I tighten the embrace, “You are very good with swords.”

He breaks the contact and his face turns red, “I’ve still got a lot to learn.” He brushes the praise off.

“I think you could take on Uncle Xander, honestly.” I smile as I rub his head.

“Mmm…” He sighs in contentment, seeming to forget what he was about to say. “You’re good at that.” Some light giggles escape him.

“Aunt Elise does it a lot. I’m just doing what she does.” I use my other hand to scratch underneath his chin, “And that’s what Aunt Camilla would always do.”

“It feels so good…” He completely gives in to the touches, “Haah…” His face burns a bright red as his scent starts to fill the air, “Vella…” Another sigh, but this one is tinged with some annoyance, despite doing nothing to stop me.

“They would also doing it until I felt heated, too.” I giggle as I stop. However, unlike me, his eyes are still glazed over, lost in his own world, “Brother?”

“I feel weird.” His declaration bothers me,  _ ‘He’s older, but he doesn’t know about… gods.’ _ He tilts his head, “Heated?” He repeats.  _ ‘Just how far is he from his Animals that he doesn’t know about mating?’ _

I nod, “Yes, heated. As in an urge to mate.”

Recognition lights up his eyes, “Oh, mating.” Yet he still seems confused, “Wait, so… oh. Sister?” His eyes turn wide, like he just realized something.

“Yes, Kana?” I ask as his own scent starts to thicken the air,  _ ‘Wow, he’s really needy.’ _

“Heated is that warm feeling, right?” I simply nod in response, “Oh, then…” He trails off. “I need to go.”

“Kana…?” I grab him by his arm before he darts off, “What’s wrong?”

“Sakura.” He states.

_ ‘Wait, he feels the urge to mate with  _ **_her_ ** _?!’ _ I raise an eyebrow, “There are boundaries for mating. Kana, she’s your aunt by blood, you can’t just…”

He fidgets in place, “I’m… not going for that.”  _ ‘Well… it’s not a lie,’ _ “Please, just let me,” He seems legitimately unable to break free from my grip. “Sister!”

“Sorry.” I let go, “You are an adult, after all.” For a moment, he actually looks fearful, “Kana, I’m sorry.”

“Momma and Papa never did that to me…” He backs away,  _ ‘Gods, he can be mature, but also so fragile.’ _ “Why did you do that?”

“I…” I what?  _ ‘How can I explain it to him? I don’t know how Mother raised him.’ _ “I overreacted,” I try as words fail me, “I didn’t mean to cause you harm, brother. I would never want to do anything like that.”

He nods, but his gaze is still wary, “Okay… I’ll see you later.” With that, he walks away and I feel like my heart just shattered,  _ ‘Gods, I didn’t mean to hurt him like that.’ _ Letting out a sigh, I walk off to my tent.  _ ‘I nearly brought him to tears, too.’ _ I part the tent’s flaps and throw myself on the cot, I feel drained.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A gentle breeze caresses my face and I wake up to fresh clean…  _ ‘Wait.’ _ My eyes snap open,  _ ‘Same as last time.’ _ There’s no one here, while Mother’s blood-colored Yato is in my hand,  _ ‘Why am I dreaming this?’ _ No, it’s different this time, there’s a village close by, the scent of blood is heavy and I unconsciously follow it.

When I arrive, it’s nothing less than an absolute massacre, every person here has been cut down, some of the buildings even have large slashes in them. Every step I take has at least a small puddle of blood, maybe some organs with it.  _ ‘Rip, kill.’ _ There’s nothing  **to** kill! My eyes scan the area, my senses are honed, nothing. There is absolutely no one else here.  _ ‘Rend, ravage.’ _ I push my Dragon and Beast back, there’s nothing here.  _ ‘If they were demanding blood or to feast, I would gladly, but they want to kill. Kill what?’ _ A sudden chill hits me as I here something rise.

I turn around to see a villager get up, its skin color quickly turning blackish, eyes turn red. The thing charges me and I lash out with Yato, severing it clean in half. The creature fades into dust afterwards,  _ ‘What was that?’ _ More groans echo as each one rises again, an army of these risen villagers.  _ ‘Tear, revenge.’ _ I hesitate for a half second,  _ ‘Revenge? For what?’ _ As more and more of the corpses rise, I see a pair of figures beneath one rather large pile. “No…” My grip on mother’s Yato tightens as I slash at several of these freaks. 

I charge towards the two bodies, unwilling to believe what I glanced at, the undead in my path are easily crushed or swatted aside. “No!” Every step gives more confirmation on what I’m dreading.  _ ‘Brother… Mother.’ _ Kana and Yasei lie there, motionless, a single stab wound through each of them,  _ ‘Wyrmslayer.’ _ I refuse to accept it, this can’t be real, this can’t be,  _ ‘It’s a dream, a nightmare.’ _ Yato pulses in my hand, its aura is comforting. I growl as I grip the handle ever tighter, refusing to let it go.

One of those villagers walk up to me and I lash out, the strike is so fast and powerful that I can smell the thing burn before it fades to smoke,  _ ‘More, kill!’ _ Another strike and the air around the blade ignites,  _ ‘Gods, this is so… exhilarating. Can Kana do this?’ _ I’ve never bothered training with a sword, since my Beast and Dragon forms can handle things just fine…

But if I can do  **this** in my normal form.  _ ‘I’m going to train when I wake up.’ _ I push their deaths behind me, as I’m too invested in the killing, the joy of seeing my opposition severed.  _ ‘Rip, ravage.’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several days has passed since that revelation I had in my nightmare and I have also taken up sword training along with my brother. My mother and father were surprised, to say the least. My brother is slowly warming up to me again,  _ ‘Gods, I feel horrible for hurting him like that.’ _ We are currently at Fort Jinya, preparing for the assault from the Nohrians, my family’s chance to break off is fast approaching.  _ ‘And Kana has only grown closer to Sakura since…’ _

“Velouria.” Mother’s voice rings out from behind me, “We need to talk.” The air suddenly feels several degrees colder,  _ ‘Oh gods… It’s going to be about Kana, isn’t it?’ _ Obediently I follow her, she leads me back to her tent, I can tell Father was here recently, but is currently out.

“Yes, Mother?” I ask as I take a seat.

She takes the time to form her words as her eyes pierce me, I can see her Dragon dancing rather close to the surface, “It’s about Kana.” My body freezes on me for a moment,  _ ‘I had a feeling.’ _ She crosses her arms, her Human right now seems more intimidating than her Dragon could ever be, “Kana is sensitive,” She starts after several more minutes pass, “And as I’m sure you noticed, his Human has a large control over his behaviour.”

I nod, “Yes, I’ve noticed, Mother.” I keep my tone polite.

“He’s impressionable, one wrong move can scar him,” Her pupils narrow, a sign she’s dangerously close to handing her Dragon control.

“I… I didn’t mean to, I wouldn’t dream of hurting him,” I quickly spill out, hoping that it would calm her, “It’s just he keeps spending so much time with Sakura and…” Any other reasoning I have dies on the spot as Mother continues to stare, unwilling to budge, I gulp.

“You yanked him by the arm, tighten your grip,” She starts listing off, “he couldn’t break free, he was so scared. He told me about how he saw your Dragon and Beast lurking behind your eyes, so close to being unleashed. Do you not remember what I told you the day you could join my army?”

“I need to restrain my Dragon and Beast, give my Human more control.” I summarize.  _ ‘Gods, were my Animals truly so close? I never even noticed.’ _

She nods, “That is correct, so why did you show your bestial side to your own brother like that?”

“He’s making it hard on himself when we have to kill Sakura.” I repeat my earlier protest.

“That is his choice.” Her bluntness causes me to stop, “He’s an adult, he understands. He is much more perceptive than he lets on, he hates the war, he doesn’t want to fight. He is only willing to take up arms to end it faster.”

“I understand he’s an adult, but…”

“Then leave him be.” I flinch from her tone, there is a large amount of regret in her voice,  _ ‘She doesn’t want to talk to me like this.’ _ She looks away, ashamed of how she’s having to deal with me. “I see Elise in him, you know. The way he walks, handles himself, his attitude, his outlook on fighting.” Her bad mood is replaced with a smile, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Elise somehow is his mother, too. Like Keaton, her, and me all contributed to his birth.” Her eyes grows distant at the mention of Aunt Elise, “Even the way he expresses his sorrow matches hers. He is only a little shorter than her, the pitch of his voice is a little deeper than hers. It seems the only difference between them are the obvious ones, he’s a male, wields a sword, and he holds a Beast and Dragon in him.”

Several minutes pass before I work up the nerve to talk again, “I want to undo what I’ve done.” That has to be the single most sincere statement I ever made, “I want to see him happy again.”

“I know.” Her smile returns, her beautiful Human smile. “Which is why you are going to help pull a mission off during the assault on Fort Jinya.”

I eagerly nods, “And that is?”

“For Kana’s sake, I’m sparing Sakura, and I need someone who can clear large distances quickly.” She looks directly at me once more, “My mate is preparing a spot to keep her safe and sheltered while we end this war. After that, we’ll retrieve her and I’ll let her and Kana roam free.”

“That’s… risky.” I admit,  _ ‘If King Garon catches wind of that.’ _

“He can’t be trusted, either.” I startle as her eyes grow bestial once more, “He’s corrupt, I’m not letting him live.”

“You mean…?”  _ ‘She can’t be serious, even if Garon is an absolute nut, Uncle Xander would be the first to call her out on it.’ _

“Garon is lost to us, he is nothing more than a puppet of Iago.” I tilt my head,  _ ‘Iago… who?’ _ “He’s the tactician for Garon.” She clarifies, “He has access to ancient and dangerous Dark Magic, the reason Father… Garon is still alive is because of him. But magic can only last for so long, which is why his skin has long since turn grey, the spell won’t last much longer.”

“Then we just kill Iago.” I suggest, “It’s still High Treason, to…”

“The magic he uses is independent of the caster’s survival.” And again, she catches me off-guard,  _ ‘What kind of magic is  _ **_that_ ** _ potent?! How did she even come across,’ _ “Big brother Leo found some ancient scrolls, one thing led to another, and he confirmed the suspicions. Suspicions my mate had before anyone else had, ‘Garon smells dead.’ That’s what Keaton told me, and now we know why.” She sighs, looking more exhausted than she ever had, “The last hurdle is that Leo is getting Xander to accept this. After that, we’re in the clear.” She slouches back in her chair.

I nod, “So, where am I taking Sakura?”

“West, you’ll come across a river, follow it until you see a forest to the South, then go South-West, you’ll come across a cave that’s well hidden, use your senses and find your Father’s scent, that’ll be the spot.” Her eyes turn to me for a moment, “I love you, Vella.”

“I love you too, Mother.” I smile as she finally dismisses me,  _ ‘Abduct Sakura… the youngest Hoshidan princess. Something tells me it’s going to be much harder than it sounds.’ _


	12. For Peace!

We’re currently stationed at Fort Jinya, the Nohrian army is predicted to strike within a few hours, Mother and Father are already itching for the blood to be shed, while Kana is spending his last few precious moments with Sakura, before I have to get her out of here. _‘He doesn’t know about it, not yet at least. Mother didn’t want his demeanor to crack and cause suspicion.’_ As always, he and her are having the time of their lives. Kana is holding her hand as he leads her through a dance routine, the two are laughing while Sakura’s retainers watch with smiles on their own faces.

“Again!” Sakura giggles as my brother leads her through another spin, his draconic and bestial strength causing him to put almost no effort into his movements. “Whee!” Her laughter fills the area, causing the mood to lighten.

“Tired?” He asks as their latest one slows down, coming to an end.

“Well, no, but…” Her face is slightly flushed as a frown forms, “we can’t keep going right now, either.”

He too, frowns, “Yea… later?” And just as quickly, another smile forms.

She quickly nods, “Absolutely!” With that, their impromptu dance fever ends and they part ways, Sakura walks back to her retainers while Kana returns to the sparring arena once more, where ‘Uncle’ Ryoma stands, waiting patiently.

“Sorry for the delay.” Kana giggles as he grabs a wooden sword, before his expression turns serious, assuming his stance.

“Not a problem,” Ryoma returns a smile, “I’m always content to watching you two.” Kana looks away for a brief moment, his own face flushing. “I hope you haven’t tired yourself out?” He takes his own stance, wooden sword at the ready.

“Of course not!” His gaze returns to the High Prince, “Thanks to my parents, I have a lot of stamina on hand…” His stance shifts slightly, taking a new form I haven’t seen yet, his sword arm is lowered and his other drops from in front of his chest to moving out beside him, as if keeping his balance, he crouches lower, more like a beast ready to pounce.

“Another stance, hm?” Ryoma looks pleased, “You have to be the only person who has this many different styles learned.” All the while, he holds the stance he always has.

“Just… try not to break too many of the swords, this time.” Kana sheepishly smiles, but returns serious once more as he launches himself with a second’s hesitation, Ryoma barely had time to block it before he counters, slicing nothing but air. My brother formed his wings and rose even higher, his wings flapped once more and he speeds towards the man, driving his sword into the ground.

Ryoma takes the opportunity and charges, but Kana smiles as he releases his grip on the wooden sword buried to the hilt and steps back, narrowly avoiding the strike. His wings dissipate as Ryoma takes the offensive, the draconic boy sidestepping each strike, before channeling his Dragon and catching the practice sword with a reinforced scaled hand, easily tearing the blade out of Ryoma’s grip with strength only I can equal. The High Prince stumbles forward and Kana knocks him to the ground, wooden sword to his throat.

“Impressive.” Ryoma concedes, “You purposely delivered a high-risk move, causing your blade to sink into the ground, then used your powers to catch my blade.” The swordmaster summarized, “That’s the first style you made that involves such reliance on your shapeshifting abilities.” Kana removes the blade and offers a hand, _‘It’s quite amusing to see him pull up a man twice his height.’_

“Yup!” Kana smiles, “Whaddya think?” He gives the man his sword back, before pulling the impaled one out of the ground.

“Do you think you can catch a real sword?”

“Mhm.” He nods.

“I see…” Ryoma smiles, “Well even so, I think you should hold off on that until it becomes necessary. Even the toughest of armor will give in to continuous strikes, do you understand?”

Kana quickly nods, “Yes, I do, Uncle.” He stretches out as his mood drops, “I suppose we should ready ourselves?” The confident Kana is replaced with one loathing the coming battle, _‘He really does hate fighting, but he spars without a care. Gods, it is truly the killing that bothers him.’_

“Are you well, nephew?” The High Prince grows concerned, “If you wish to not join…”

He fidgets in place, “I… Uncle, would it be wrong to not join? I’m not sure if I can. I mean, I want the war to end as soon as possible, and I can help with that but…”

He shakes his head, “If you wish to stay behind, feel free. I would hate for you to be scarred from the horrors of war.” Ryoma places a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “And it will end soon, I assure you. Now then!” His voice booms, catching him by surprise, “I got a gift for you. Saizo!” Kana’s face brightens at the thought of a present, and grows even brighter as the scarred Ninja walks up with a wrapped rectangular box. “This is for you.”

“Thank you!” He exclaims as he eagerly grabs it, ripping into the wrapping with ease. “Whoa…” His eyes brighten as it reveals a case, “A sword?” He questions as he opens the case, revealing that it is, in fact, a sword. The blade is made of a bright white metal, while the hilt and guard sport Hoshidan style colors. If I focus my senses, I can see a small Cherry Blossom tree on either side of the handle.

“Well, a Katana, specifically.” The man clarifies, “I can tell you don’t like fighting, but I have to admit that it’s a shame to see your talents go to waste. You deserve to wield a high-quality weapon, so I had Hoshido’s best smith forge a katana from our most precious and sturdiest metals.”

“All for me?” His eyes are wide as he pulls out a sheathe from the case, the sheathe is no less fancy. Small dragons, beasts, and cherry blossoms line the exterior.

“All for you.” He nods.

“Wow… thanks!” He carefully sheathes the katana, then gently places it down, and not so gently throws himself onto Ryoma, wrapping his arms around him. “You’re the best, Ryoma! I can’t wait to show Momma and Papa this!” His mood is nothing less than an absolute beacon of joy as he breaks the embrace, grabs the sheathe, and skips towards our parents. _‘Gods…’_ A smile forms on my own face.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I notice Kana pointedly avoiding everyone as he makes his way to the back, “I’m sorry, momma, but…” He admits, _‘It’s all an act.’_ I can smell it, _‘It’s part of the plan, then. Which means he knows what I have to do now.’_

She smiles at him, “It’s alright, dear. I should have considered your feeling on it before shoving you into all of this.” She pats him on the shoulder, before kissing his cheek, “We’ll handle it, okay? Be safe.” The boy nods as he resumes his course. Mother walks to me, “Ready, Vella?”

I nod, “Yes, Mother.” We take up our positions on the front lines, Sakura and Yukimaru are the ones commanding the defensive, _‘Takumi is holding the Great Wall, Hinoka has the courtyard, Ryoma has the castle itself.’_ I can see the Nohrians on the horizon, Uncle Xander’s unmistakable presence on the front. _‘Almost…’_ I feel myself become giddy with excitement, _‘There’s Uncle Leo, Aunt Camilla, Aunt Camilla… and Peri.’_ I pick each of them out.

“Big sister!” I hear Elise cry out as they are within their eyesight, she looks ready to bolt, but Xander stays her.

“Yasei…” Xander regards mother with a cold aura.

Mother looks back at the Hoshidans, before shrugging them off and smiling at them, “Can we finally start fighting side by side again?” She approaches Xander. “It’s been tiring keeping up this facade.”

“I, er… what?” He seems caught off guard.

Camilla giggles, “Our dear Yasei.” She opens her arms for her. “See? She would never betray us.”

Mother nods as Father and I join her, “I was simply taking advantage of their hospitality.” Her Yato is on hand, directed back at the Hoshidans, “Now, let’s end this? I can’t wait to show Kana to you all.” Her smile is vicious and she nods at me, _‘Well, time to pull this off…’_ Grabbing Sakura? Easy. Getting out unseen, even amidst the chaos? Hard. I know I can do it, though. Mother wouldn’t have asked if she didn’t think I could do it. “For Nohr!” Mother yells and the assault begins.

I shift into my Beast form and slam two Hoshidans into the ground, _‘Kill, ravage, death, rend.’_ Both of my Animals call out for more and I happily oblige. I ready a fist for another, but Peri swoops in and steals the kill, “Gotta be faster than that!” She giggles madly as she leads her horse to trample another soldier. I resist the urge to rise to her challenge, _‘I can’t lose focus.’_ Though it is an uphill battle, especially when I see her enjoying herself so much, the way blood spurts through the air, her form slowly starting to become more and more covered. My body slowly becomes more heated as I find myself sparing more glances at her, _‘Claim,_ **_mine_ ** _.’_ I shake my head and return my focus to Sakura, who looks nothing less than shaken. The grip on her bow is weak, her eyes glisten with tears, _‘All the easier to snatch her away.’_

Yukimaru is the only real obstacle, he rides on top of some sort of mechanical… thing. I flash a vicious smile at the man and charge him, “Traitor!” He yells as he pulls some strings on it, causing a shuriken to fly through the air, I dodge it with ease, only to get tackled by another mechanical thing, though it is much smaller than his. I go to move, but it actually manages to hold me down with surprising strength. “For Hoshido!” He shouts once more and his puppet’s mouth opens, firing off an arrow this time, I shift my chest fur into my dragon scales and it bounces off harmlessly, before overpowering the annoying thing holding me back.

I only get a few steps in before he sics another half dozen of those things at me, _‘Gods, they are a simple nuisance… and can’t you see your arrows do me no harm?’_ One by one, the things drop, and one by one, he sends more. “Coward.” I growl out.

“Better a coward than a traitor.” He snarls back, “Now, die.”

“St-stop! Please!” Sakura’s voice rings out, yet Yukimaru prepares his puppet regardless…

Then stops as a blade all but appears out of nowhere next to his neck, “Leave. My. Sister. Alone.” Kana is standing on the man’s puppet, the sword Ryoma made for him is dangerously close to the man’s neck. _‘What are you waiting for? Kill him!’_

“K-Kana?” Sakura gasps.

“No one else has to die, please stand down.” My brother calmly states.

“You are all traitors!” He lashes out, but stays put.

“Stand. Down.” His voice becomes commanding, a far cry from the youthful innocent tone I’m used to. “Now.”

“I won’t ever bow to some Nohrian…” He pulls a string on his puppet…

Or at least he would have, if he didn’t have an opening in his neck, “I’m sorry.” Kana sincerely states, “I truly didn’t want to, but you left me no choice.” He looks remorseful, before kneeling down and closing the man’s eyes. “I’ll pray for a peaceful afterlife, sir.”

“Nephew?” Sakura’s body is shaking as her eyes dart towards me, her bow is drawn, a magical arrow forms, _‘Mother described the Fujin Yumi in the same way.’_ However, this arrow is a bright yellow.

“Please, stand down. I don’t want more death.” Kana thrusts his sword into the earth, the force alone buries it halfway. “And I won’t fight you.”

“B-But, you… Nohr…” The arrow dissipates as her grip trembles even more. “I… Hoshido.”

“I still want to dance with you, you know.” Every word he speaks seems to make her falter more, “Sing, play instruments… I want to make you smile, laugh, be happy.”

“Th-Then why? Why did you betray…?” Her arms drop, her bow still in her grip.

“I stand with Mother, and Mother fights for Nohr, but I refuse to kill any of the Royals.” His own eyes start to glisten as he takes hesitant steps towards her, “Even if that means losing my own, I **hate** this war, I just want us to be at peace again.” He looks up at the youngest Princess, who is almost an entire head taller, “Please, stand down.”

“I… can’t.” She shakes her head, but her scent gives her away, _‘She wants the war to end, too.’_

“You mean a lot to me, Sakura.” He presses on, “I would feel terrible if I lost you, so please, stand down. I promise you that you’ll be safe.”

“Kana…” She looks away as her resolve breaks under my brother’s words. “Tr-troops!” She finally calls out, “Stand down!” Both sides stops, the Hoshidans out of orders and the Nohrians out of surprise. Kana offers his hand, his smile is back.

“Lady Sakura!” Hana rushes to her side, inserting herself between Kana and her liege. “Surely you…”

“It’s okay, Hana.” She smiles.

“He’s Nohrian! He means to dec…”

“No! He means nothing but honesty.” The very fact that the princess interrupted her retainer sends a wave of silence. “...and you mean a lot to me too, Kana.” She flushes as she takes the still offered hand.

“Aw, how adorable.” Camilla comments as she approaches us, causing both Kana and Sakura to flush intensely.

“She’s surrendering for Kana?” Leo asks, “I find that hard to believe.”

“Oh, knock it off.” Yasei’s voice rings out, “It’s great to have you with me again.” She smiles at Sakura.

The youngest Hoshidan princess quickly nods, “I’m h-happy to be with y-you again, too, Corrin.” Mother slightly tenses at her birth name, but quickly recomposes herself.

“We need to push the offensive, sister.” Xander advises, effectively killing the good mood.

Mother nods, “The Great Wall is next.” She turns towards her blood-sister, “I need to get going, there is a safe area…”

“I’m not leaving you!” Sakura interrupts her.

“I’m not making you fight Hoshidans, sister.” She counters. “Besides, if Garon catches you out here…”

“We’ve just reunited and you’re sending me away?” Hana has her katana drawn once more.

“I’ll keep her safe, Mother.” Kana’s calm voice sounds out. Mother’s resolve falters at my brother’s declaration. “From anyone.”

Mother looks at Xander, who gives her a grim nod, “So you believe us, then?” Another nod and he marches on, “Alright, Kana dear. I’m counting on you.” She smiles her beautiful Human smile once more.

“I promise.” Kana’s voice drops as he turns towards Sakura once more, “Trust me.” She giggles and nods, _‘How are they_ **_that_ ** _attached to each other? And so quickly.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Valla doesn't exist for any AU version of 'Thirst for Blood', which would obviously mean that a Kana/Sakura would be incest, yea?
> 
> Maybe.


	13. Discipline

The Great Wall, it’s truly nothing less than massive. Takumi is leading the defensive here, who else would be better? He has the best archery unit under him and they automatically have the height advantage. They won’t win, I won’t let them. “You're charging in.” Father tells me, “Get in, kill some archers, leave.”

“Sounds risky.” Even if there were just archers up there, that would leave me wide open.

“My mate agrees, but…” He looks at the wall, “You're the fastest, you can also glide down, and she needs to stay back.”

“Kana?” I ask.

“He and Sakura are in the main force, but stationed in the back.” He pauses, “I  **thought** we were going to take a bite out of  **all** the royals, but… whatever.”

“I just want more bloodshed.” I admit.

“Oh, I see how it is.” Peri leaps onto my back, “Tired of me already?”

In one swift motion, I swing her around and pin her to the ground, “I never tire of you.” I growl at her,  _ ‘Claim,  _ **_mine_ ** _.’ _

“Pup.” Keaton’s voice kills the mood.

“Yea yea,” Peri sighs, “I’m getting ready.” She says that, but still plants a kiss on my lips, “More for later.” She giggles.

I check myself over, one Dragonstone, one Beaststone, and one steel sword strapped to my side… not that it will hold more than a few strikes, but it's not like we can afford the silver I need for something that'll last, considering the force I place behind my strikes.  _ ‘How does my brother make his previous swords last so long?’  _ He strikes even harder than me… I'm obviously missing something here. I shake my head free of those thoughts, not now. There's a battle to win, and a Royal’s body to feast on,  _ ‘Kill, rip, rend, eat.’ _

\-----------------------------------------

It was clear they weren't expecting anyone to rush the wall, as the soldiers were placed heavily on the main field before the gate and stairways, but after that? All that stood between me and my goal were the archers themselves, Takumi, and his retainers. Oboro has a Beast Killer and Hinata wields a Wyrmslayer, neither of them strikes fear into me. I'm above those weapons.

Takumi orders his retainers to kill me, so he and the archers can focus on my mother’s army.  _ ‘Fool.’  _ I decide to humor them, show them just how much better I am. Hinata lashes out first and I grab his sword with a shifted Beast hand. His cocky smirk turns to a look of surprise. Oboro, seeking an advantage, tries to attack the same arm, only for her Beast Killer to be caught by my maw. “Fools.” With a show of strength, I pull both of them back, knocking them off balance, before abruptly pushing them back, the force alone was enough to tear their weapons from their grasps. “I hold no fear for these.” A simple toss throws the armaments over the wall and to show off, I display my hand and maw, completely unharmed.

“L-Lord Ta…” Hinata didn't even get a chance to finish before I snatched him by the throat, he kicks and struggles, but even with an unshifted hand, it's useless.

“Oh, no you don't!” Oboro has procured another lance and attempts another strike. I shift my body so the other retainer takes the hit, before I quickly place my maw over her head at a speed that she couldn't follow.

“Who should I kill first?” Not that the spear fighter could answer.

“Heh…” The samurai manages to choke out, “Lord Takumi… was right. Nothing than a beast.”

I growl and snap my maw close, ending Oboro with a delicious cracking sound, “Oh?”

“All we had to do was taunt you, bitch.” I don't get what… “He has all the time in the world to line up that one shot.”

_ ‘Gods, I… fell for _ **_that_ ** _?!’  _ I… forgot to… I twist the man's neck and charged for the Prince,  _ ‘How?’ _ I continue berating myself on the way there.

“Bullseye…” Takumi mutters as his arrow is loosed. Time seems to slow down as it speed towards his target,  _ ‘No…’ _ I tackle him to the ground right as an howl echoes through the air… a roar follows. “Too late.” Is all he gets out before I begin to shred him apart.

“Pup!” ...Father? “PUP!” No, it’s Mother. _‘She never referred to me as a pack, only family.’_ She yanks me from the puddle that is now Takumi, he's essentially been turned into ribbons, then proceeds to hold me by the neck, but leaving more than enough room to breath. “What… did I. **order** **you** to do?” I've never seen her Dragon so close, it's enough to put a kind of terror… _‘Gods, this must have been what Kana saw.’_

“You… wanted,”

“I  **ordered** …” I felt a sting on my face,  _ ‘She actually struck me.’ _

“You ordered me to take out the archers on the wall and leave.”

“Then why did you disobey my orders?” She has let me go, my body falls on the ground, but her stare alone pins me in place, “PUP!”

“I… was provoked.” Shameful, completely shameful, no it's even worse,  _ ‘I got father killed.’ _

She takes a breath, but it barely helps as tears sting her eyes. “You’re sitting out the next battle,” She finally says after a moment, “And you won’t have a bite in the next Royal.” I nod in response,  _ ‘I was honestly expecting…’ _

“Pardon the wait, dear Yasei.” Aunt Camilla’s voice coos out from behind me, her aura nothing less than murderous, “Come, Velouria.” And that aura is directed at  **me** . Mother nods and turns away, “Velouria!” To prevent further problems, I follow her. Everyone in the army knows of her almost insane side when it comes to protecting and making my mother happy. I shiver,  _ ‘Who knows what she has planned.’ _

Aunt Camilla leads me into her tent and the first thing that catches my attention is a lone chair in the center, “Here, Velouria.” She hands me… a cup of water? She smiles, but I catch the scent of… nothing, actually, it’s like she has something that prevents scents. “Drink this.” Not wanting to provoke her, I accept it and down it in one go, it tastes off, though I can’t pinpoint what. “Now, sit down.” I hand her the cup and sit down on the chair. “Very good, now, I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t. Move. An. Inch.” I freeze on the spot, suddenly very concerned,  _ ‘I would think she would have everything here now.’ _ I’m still unsure on what she is going to do, though I still do as she says. I’d rather not make my situation any…  _ ‘Gods. How long is a bit?’ _

It was the water, there was  **something** in the water, I knew there was, but now?  _ ‘I  _ **_really_ ** _ have to pee…’ _ I try my best to keep still, worried that even crossing my legs would equal disobeying her orders.  _ ‘Don’t think about it, don’t think about it.’ _ I form fists with my hands and squeeze as hard as I can, trying to push away the feeling of having to pee.  _ ‘Gods, she  _ **_is_ ** _ creative.’ _ I bite into my lip, forcing to focus on something, anything else besides  **this** .  _ ‘Please, hurry…’ _ __   
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
Completely embarrassing, I’ve been sitting here for what feels like a day. By this point, I had already shifted around unconsciously, after both my claws and teeth ripping into my own skin wasn’t enough to keep the thoughts away. My bottom lip and palms are still bleeding, my eyelids hurt from squeezing them shut for so long,  _ ‘And she  _ **_still_ ** _ isn’t back.’ _ I just want this to be over, “I’m sorry…” I didn’t realize that whimper came out of my mouth until about a minute later. The tent flap rustles, but it proves to be nothing more than a breeze again, as Aunt Camilla has yet to come back. However, I do notice that the light of the sun is absent,  __ ‘How long have…’

It happened, my face flushes as I smell the distinct scent of urine leaving me,  _ ‘Gods…’ _ On one hand, the pressure is gone, but on the other, I just  **peed** on myself. “I’m back…” And it seemed like she was waiting for that exact moment to return, Aunt Camilla strides in. “You almost made it, too.” She coos.

“Gods, Aunt Camilla, I’m…” I try to start, but she shakes her head.

“Up.” Gulping, I do as she says, “Now, come over here.” She takes a seat on her cot, then pats her legs, her smile never left.

“...I’m wet, though.”

She glares, “Who said anything about sitting? Velouria, get over here, and bend over my legs. Now.” Her tone turns cold and I rush over, before things get any worse. “Now, what did you do wrong today?”

“I disobeyed Mother’s… ah!” I was cut off by her gauntlet covered hand slamming on my rear.

“On the battlefield, Yasei is your commander.”

“I disobeyed the commander’s orders.” I amend my statement.

I tense as her hand contradictory gently glides across my butt, “What were her orders?”

“Charge in, take out the archers, and leave.” I hold in a gasp of pain as she digs her armored fingers into my flesh,  _ ‘What, those were my orders!’ _

Another slap, this time on the fresh wound, I whimper afterwards, “Why did you disobey our commander?”

“I let myself be provoked by Takumi’s retainers.” I cry out in pain as another slap follows my statement, then another, and a third time. By now, tears are leaving my eyes,  _ ‘Gods… It  _ **_hurts_ ** _.’ _

“How are you feeling?” She smoothly shifts to a more caring personality.

Yet, I can’t help that this is all part of her torture, “I-I’m well, Aunt Camilla.” I’m afraid admitting my pain will make this continue.

“Oh?” She lightly giggles, “Then you won’t mind if I continue?”

_ ‘Gods, that was clever…’ _ She had to have planned that, “Aunt Camilla… AH!”

“Ooo, that was a loud one.” The facade drops and she sounds murderous again, “Now, let’s finish this off, shall we?” She didn’t stop until both sides of my butt were completely red and bleeding in several spots. “This won’t happen again, right?” She asks as I remain bent over her legs, too exhausted from the constant gasps of pain that turned into screams.

“I… I won’t disobey the commander’s orders again.” My voice is hoarse, “Please, I’m sorry.”

“That’s a good girl.” She laughs as she gets up, causing me to ungracefully drop to the floor. “Oh dear, you seem tired, here…” Aunt Camilla picks me up and lies me down on her cot, before climbing in herself, armor and all. “It’s late, after all. Good night, niece.” I whimper into her breast as she pulls me closer. At least it’s over.  _ ‘Gods, I’m so sorry.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...because some things remain constant, even in alternate timelines.


	14. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is relatively short, but I wouldn't want it any other way this time...
> 
> She'll be back at a later time, in a different fic.

True to mother’s word, I was prohibited from joining in the next battle, which was also the final battle. Ryoma himself led the defensive in the castle itself, the High Prince moved his position and the remaining troops to the inside.. I’ve been assigned to guard the Convoy… alone. While my rear is still noticeably red, and for once I wish I did wear more than just my shawl. _‘It still hurts…’_ I have yet to sit down since yesterday. On top of that, both Peri and me were ordered to keep our distance apart from each other. _‘I deserve it,_ **_I_ ** _got father killed…’_ I suddenly fall to my knees as the reality of it strikes me again, harder than last time. _‘I got father killed.’_ I feel tears form as I hang my hand down, _‘I wasn’t anything more than a wild animal yesterday… I always thought myself to be so much superior.’_ I **failed** my parents…

I’m unworthy of being their pup. _‘He’s dead.’_ Keaton’s death howl echoes in my mind, followed by Yasei’s roar. In hindsight, Camilla’s punishment was nothing compared to the those two sounds. _‘He died because of me.’_ I pick myself back up and wipe the tears away, _‘I need to focus.’_ Gods only know what will happen if I fail another set of orders. Right as I was able to take a single step, my fur stands on end, I unsheathe my sword and slash at the air behind me, I hear a quiet gasp as some clothing is chopped off. A green-hair Ninja seemingly appears out of nowhere, “Lady Velouria.” He keeps his distance, preferring instead to look me over, I see a small flush form as he does so. I deny him the same courtesy, instead choosing to rush him, _‘Don’t forget the Convoy…’_ I slice the air again, missing as he smoothly side-steps the attack. “Please, I just want a moment of your time.”

“You’ve nothing I have, Hoshidan.” I spit back as I swing a third time, but managing to summon my lance and pierce his side as he attempts another dodge.

“Is it too much to ask to exchange some words?” He attempts again, while nimbly deflecting another series of strikes.

“I only wish to hear your death cry.” _‘Nobody else is here…’_

“...had I the chance,” He starts, “I would have taken Lord Takumi’s arrow instead.” The sincerity behind the declaration causes one of my swings to falter. “When Lady Corrin returned to Hoshido, I dedicated myself to be her retainer, I pushed myself to my limits, then even more.”

“Mother is Yasei, not Corrin.” I stay my hand.

“My apologies.” He is still sincere, honest. “I, like many others, only wish for this war to end. Too much needless blood had been spilled.”

 _‘Rip, rend.’_ “What is your point, Ninja?” We’re still the only ones here.

“...I still wish to serve as Lady Yasei’s retainer.”

“Then **why** are you talking to me?”

“I hadn’t the proper chance to speak to her, and since you are her daughter, I had hoped you would bring it up on my behalf.”

I take a moment to push my Dragon and Beast away, “...What’s your name?”

The smallest of smiles shows on his face, “Kaze.”

“Very well, Kaze. Leave.” For emphasis, I point my sword away from the Convoy, “I will bring this to mother later.” I internally roll my eyes,  _'Like I would stoop down to a messenger. Mother won't ever know you were here.'_

“Thank you, Lady Velouria.” With that, he vanishes, though I can still sniff him out as he leaves.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
Other than the encounter with Kaze, I had no disturbances with my mission. No outside disturbances, that is, but my Dragon and Beast on the other hand… _‘Kill, rend, rip, tear, feast, blood.’_ My Animals have been almost endlessly pounding on me, demanding to be satiated. I take a moment to force them back, _‘I have a task, I can’t give in.’_ The biggest problem is that there isn’t really anything **to** do! I’m just basically strutting around, how can people actually put up with this? It’s too dull!

Letting out a heavy sigh, I slump against the Convoy, almost wishing that **something** would happen. _‘Death, ravage.’_ I grunt as the two Animals protest again… already. _‘No! I can’t.’_ Gods only know what will happen if I abandon my post, if I fail to carry out this order. _‘Feast, blood!’_ I bare my teeth as the craving for a kill start to rise, just one. If I could just get one in, _‘No, wait. I have to wait.’_ I let out a whine, “Mother… please hurry back.”

The Beast growls, the Dragon roars, and I’m left almost to the point where I’m clutching my head, willing them to stop.  
  
...She had to have abandoned me. Night has fallen and the army has yet to return. Why is it taking them so long? They couldn’t have fallen, right? Gods, what if I could’ve prevented that… _‘Rip, ravage.’_ My Animals refuse to stay silent, hour after hour. _‘It’s obvious she left me, she just tried to hide it behind a task.’_ Tears sting my face as I try to push that line of reasoning back, _‘She would never leave me… but I got Father killed._ **_Her_ ** _mate.’_ The sound of something breaking breaks me out of my thoughts, but it takes me a moment to see that **I’m** the source of it as my fist punches through the very thing I was to guard. _‘Control! I need to focus.’_

I hold back a growl as the unwanted thought starts to take an uncomfortable hold, _‘She left me, she doesn’t want me, she…’_ Both my Dragonstone and Beaststone start to glow. _‘Why would she? I got Keaton killed.’_ I focus on my senses… nothing. Nobody in the distance, no Ninjas sneaking around, _‘Can’t deliver your message if she doesn’t return, fool.’_ I scoff. _‘She doesn’t want me, I couldn’t do anything worse than I already did.’_ I look towards the Castle once more, _‘She doesn’t care, not anymore.’_ I turn and leave, she obviously only wants Kana. Her army has obviously already won the fight, and they are celebrating without me.

I’m better off finding my own path.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With nothing more than my sword and both of my Stones, I trek out, leaving behind what little I had left. I continuously convince myself that mother wouldn’t want me. I’ve seen how proud she is of Kana, how much attention Kana has consistently gotten. And… and what about me? _‘Oh, your skills as a fighter are great, dear. You need to work on your Human, though.’_ Human, my Human, it’s always on Human. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for her Dragon! My foot forcibly plants itself into the ground and I let out a dangerous growl.

 _‘Rip, tear, ravage, blood.’_ My Animals call out, desperate for something more. I… I can’t even be with Peri! _‘Mate, claim, need.’_ Why does mother disregard her Dragon so much? If… if…

If what? I clench my fist as I double my walking speed, trying to push the increasingly violent thoughts behind me.

So what if I leave? It’s only natural for one to leave the pack. It’s… only been sped up, that’s all. Just like those damn Deeprealms! Deeprealms… Deeprealms…

Outrealms.

That’s it. With that one word resonating in my mind, I knew exactly where to go. There isn’t much known about the massive Dragon’s Gate that gives access to the Outrealms, but it is known that its ancient magics can take one to far off and distant lands.

And that is exactly what I am going to do. I’ll just go somewhere far away. I’ll take all the blood and flesh I want, and I won’t ever have to worry about my Human again.

And if wherever I go runs out? Or if the population as a whole fears me?

I’ll just go somewhere else, just like I did with those forests in the Deeprealms.

I smile, let out a hearty laugh, and mentally prepare myself. _‘Hold on, my Animals. Soon, you’ll have all the blood and flesh you ever want. I will never let you go unheard again, as long as I have a say in it.’_


End file.
